


Fractured Miracle

by ComfyDreamer



Series: The World of Territe [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fantasy, a n g e r y, how do you assign tags, what the hell do i imagine when i go to sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-06-25 12:21:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 88,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15640671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComfyDreamer/pseuds/ComfyDreamer
Summary: Destiny cares not for things like karma. If the universe wills it, even a miracle planet such as Territe can be struck by tragedy and turmoil.Taking place afterRadiant Swordsand shortly afterShining Tomorrows, Fractured Miracle is a story about how two unlikely newcomers started a series of events that would change the planet forever.





	1. Arrival 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here begins yet another story that was created from my random daily brainstorming and possibly my questionably-existent angst. This is my first time writing something of a heavier nature, so I actually have barely any idea of what I'm doing.
> 
> Eh, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually.

_In a small house, in an unspecified location on Earth..._

The young boy known as Louis Durand fiddled with a number of small devices lying before him on a wooden table. He was both excited and nervous for what was about to happen - something that he had been planning for many months now. Noticing a presence behind him, he cleared his throat. “Jacques, we _are_ ready, right?”

His older brother, Jacques, sighed. “Louis, we’ve gone over everything at least three times already. Loosen up a bit! You’re the one who wanted to do this.”

Louis sighed. His brother was right - it was _his_ idea. Ever since they could think about it, the siblings had always loved the fantasy genre - especially Louis. He had read countless fantasy books and played a number of fantasy games, but the truth remained painfully embedded in his mind - fantasy was, indeed, _fantasy_. It wasn’t real.

But all of that had changed at the end of last year. Reading some of his brother’s textbooks, he had found one by a curious professor named Matheus Grey. The book depicted an experiment that had taken place well before Louis was born - one involving a peculiar planet called Territe. If the book spoke the truth, that planet - although strangely small - held fantastic creatures and intelligent lifeforms that could wield magic at will. In other words, it was like the fantasy stories of his childhood had suddenly come to life.

Yet as an intrigued Louis had kept reading, he soon realized that it was simply impossible for humans to experience anything in that fantasy land. Not only was everything there far too small for human interaction, it was impossible to make something small yet complex enough to traverse the planet like their resident lifeforms.

Well...at least if one was bound to human physics.

Merely a month later, the brothers had come across something that could only be described as a miracle. Louis still remembered Jacques kicking open the door to their house, yelling about the small meteorite that had just landed in their yard. When trying to identify what kind of metal it was, they inadvertently found out that it resonated with a peculiar energy signature - one that perfectly matched the descriptions of the magical metal mentioned in Matheus’ book. After checking a couple more times just to be sure, their suspicions were indeed confirmed - this was a metal that resonated with an Absolute Reality field, unbinding anything made near or out of it from human standards of physics.

It took quite a bit of time to figure out how to work the metal. But their parents were both unparalleled scientists,  and their two sons had an intellect to match. So after experimenting with it in their spare time and studying their parents’ work, they managed to create rudimentary nanomachines from the metal. And by controlling those, they picked up on the basics of bending this material to their will.

Before they knew it, many months had passed, and the two of them had advanced their skill at using this magic metal. In the hands of beings without magic like themselves, it had no power. But in the hands of _machines_ made from that very same metal...that was a different story. So, using that logic, the brothers had hatched a plan - one that would allow both of them to finally visit the fantasy world of their dreams.

Although, to be honest, Louis had no idea how his older brother had managed to pinpoint where the planet of Territe was, nor how he had managed to send their meteorite-turned-temporary-base to that very location. He wasn’t going to question it, though - he had total faith that his brother was smart enough to pull it off.

So now, their meteorite was orbiting the planet of Territe, approximately the size to the planet as the moon was to Earth. And their robotic avatars, the fruits of their meticulous, painstaking work, were sealed in a capsule and prepared to make the drop.

Sighing, Louis put on his headset. “This is it, big brother. We’re really going down there, to explore a new world!”

Jacques did the same. “Yes it is, little brother. Let us be proud as we venture into the new world, just like the many adventurers who did the same thing before us.”

 

_On Territe…_

The strange planetoid that had seemingly begun orbiting their planet had baffled the Nanosapients to no end. It had just appeared out of nowhere one day, and while it was interesting to finally have a moon of sorts, it was more than a little unnerving. But until today, it hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.

However, last night a flaming meteor had fallen from the planetoid and struck the fields just over a kilometer from Electi Terram. Some of the planet’s strongest and most remarkable individuals had just so happened to be there at the moment, and they were now all preparing for anything this sudden event could bring.

But before that, a certain pair of parents had matters to attend to.

Roused by the noise and daybreak sunlight drifting through their half-open windows, Yu and Kana Hoshizora groggily rubbed their eyes and shook themselves awake. They had just prepared to change out of their pajamas when their mother, Yuki no Hikari, ran into the room with an urgent look on her face.

“Eh? Oh, hi, mom…” Yu yawned. “What is it?”

Yuki smiled and patted both her children on the head, but she was incapable of hiding the deadly seriousness in her eyes. “Listen, me and Ken have got to go and handle some unexpected business. You two just be good and stay here, okay?”

“Huh?” Kana asked. “Can’t we do anything to help you?”

“I appreciate your offer, but none of us know if this situation is safe or not. I’d hate for any of you to get hurt.”

Yu tilted his head. “So...exactly what is happening here?”

Yuki sighed. “Well, an object just fell from that moon that’s been orbiting the planet. Hibiki’s convinced that it might have some kind of life inside of it, so all of us are going out there to see what it is.”

Yu gulped. “That’s really cool and kind of scary at the same time.”

“Can we at least watch somehow?” Kana asked.”

“You know, you might be able to see what’s happening from the window.” Yuki told them. “If you really want, you can try that. Just don’t leave the house, okay?”

The two kids nodded obediently. “Okay!”

 

Outside, countless individuals surrounded the smoldering crater that the mysterious object had created. The smoke had cleared, revealing the object to be a large, sleek white capsule of sorts. Nobody knew if it was dangerous or not, so everyone was on guard.

Sophia and her father Magnus stood by, preparing to cast a magical barrier over the site at a moment’s notice. Mitama and Hibiki had their weapons at the ready, prepared to unleash all manner of magical destruction should the object make any threatening moves. Melody had prepared a slowing field ready to activate with a thought, and Xander nervously twirled a glowing arrow in his hands. Joseph and Anthony had their weapons poised to open fire, their trigger fingers tense.

Ken and Yuki ran over to the site, the former immediately placing a hand on his sword hilt while the latter questioned her friends. “Did anything happen yet?”

Hibiki shook her head. “Nope, nothing yet. We’ve just been making preparations in case anything goes south.”

Ken surveyed the area, noticing the abnormal concentration of weapons and magical energy. “I can see that.”

“Uh…” Xander slowly began as the capsule began to hiss. “I think it’s doing something!”

All of the Nanos stepped back as the capsule expelled white vapor and split open, revealing two large figures hunched over within it. As the onlookers tried to peer through the fog, two pairs of glowing red eyes shone out in response.

The first figure to come out of the fog bore the appearance of a large, bulky knight clad from head to toe in pitch-black plate armor. A deep red cape billowed behind it, and its crimson eyes glowed from within a menacing horned helmet.

The second figure was wildly different from it’s cohort. This one resembled a slimmer gladiator decked in golden armor as opposed to the first newcomer’s black. Its plumed helm framed a similar set of glowing red eyes, and a pair of silvery wings were folded behind its back.

The two figures took unsteady, hesitant steps forward, as if they had just learned to walk mere minutes ago. After advancing a couple meters, they stopped in place and seemed to survey the area, their gazes eventually falling onto the Nanos.

Mitama’s hands tightened around her sword as she sensed danger, only for Ken to give her a signal to calm down. Clearing his throat, he addressed the newcomers. “Uh, hi. Who are you two, and where did you come from?”

The dark knight tilted its head as if to process the words. Then, after what seemed like a short thought session, it spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. “Hello, people of this planet. My name is Louis, and this is my big brother Jacques.”

The golden warrior nodded before continuing in a smooth baritone. “We are what we suppose you could call aliens. The two of us have been living on that meteorite for as long as we can remember, until it suddenly started orbiting your planet. We were quite curious, so we observed you for some time. Then we decided to make contact, I guess. Er...sorry if it caused you any trouble.”

“Wait,” Hibiki asked incredulously. “So there _are_ sentient life-forms our size out in the universe?”

Sophia whipped out a notebook and began scribbling notes. “Incredible. It seems that the humans were wrong.”

Louis and Jacques looked at each other, prompting the former to speak up after a bit. “...Humans?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know.” Ken told them. “There used to be these absolutely titanic beings known as humans who held dominion over our planet. Eventually, they released us - but not before blessing us with an abundance of their knowledge.”

“Wait a moment, how do you know what language we speak?” Yuki asked. “The entire planet speaks it, but it was given to us by humanity.”

Jacques scratched his helmet. “We’ve been using it too, though. It was just ingrained in our minds ever since we could remember, along with a concerning amount of prior knowledge.” He looked at his hands. “Perhaps these bodies of metal were created by these “humans” you speak of.”

Mitama frowned and held out her hand. “That’s no normal metal, though. That’s Imperium. Are you aware that nearly your entire bodies are made of the most magically-conductive metal on the planet?”

Louis flinched. “Magic? Well, we _did_ detect some kind of energy signature coming from our bodies and the planetoid we live on, using the machines we built in our spare time. We know that it has power, but...well, we have no idea how to use it.”

“Ah, we could likely teach you how to.” Ken told him offhandedly, “It must have been lonely living by yourselves on that planetoid, so I can see why you’d want to make contact with us. But anyways...welcome to Territe, the planet we call home. I’m sure you’ll grow to love it just like we do.”

Yuki lit up. “Oh! We forgot to introduce ourselves! I’m Yuki no Hikari, and this is Ken Hoshizora. Pleased to meet you!”

So as the Nanos cheerily introduced themselves to these alien newcomers one by one, the two brothers quickly got accustomed to the attention and started talking with them as well. However, before long, the two robotic entities requested that they be left alone. It seemed that they wanted to wander the fields for a bit - to get used to the feeling of being on a planet teeming with life, they had said. It was also evident that the enthusiastic welcome they had received had startled them at least a little. The Nanos understood that interaction might be a bit difficult for beings that had lived alone for an unknown period of time. Sophia in particular could attest to that.

Soon afterwards, all of the Nanos returned to their respective homes to think about the events of the day. Yu and Kana were overjoyed when their parents came back safe, and were even happier when they told them about everything that had happened.

As night fell, the two brothers simply laid down on a hill to rest. The new world was a stark contrast to their original home, and they were brimming with curiosity about all of its wonders. Amidst thoughts of hope for their future, the pair of robots entered sleep mode as their eyes dimmed and went out.

 

Back at home, Louis took off his headset. Next to him, Jacques did the same. Operating those avatars had been an interesting experience, but meeting the denizens of Territe had been even more extraordinary.

“Hey, Jacques.” the younger brother asked. “Did you actually just make all of that up on the spot?”

Jacques smiled. “I told you I was pretty good at improvising stories back at school, but you never believed me.”

Louis laughed. “I don’t know why I expected anything less from my big brother.

”You did a fine job playing along, though. You caught on very fast.” Jacques continued.

In response, Louis laughed. “Aw, thanks. Well, we did it. We’ve taken our first steps into this new world - a world of fantasy and magic, one with endless wonders waiting to be discovered and explored.”

He reached out as if to touch the ceiling. “Ah...I couldn’t be happier.”

Jacques gave him a small grin. “That’s all I needed to hear, little brother.”


	2. Arrival 2

Needless to say, the last month had been arguably the best experience that Louis and Jacques had ever had in their lives. Having finally unlocked the fantasy world of their dreams, the two of them had been eager to spend their time their, soaking up everything it had to offer. They were on vacation and their parents were on a trip, so they had plenty of time to explore. Of course, they had to remember to stay in touch with the real world as well - but that wasn’t too hard for them.

As for the new world, they hadn’t been disappointed - the world of Territe had completely blown them away. What was especially unique to them was how _free_ it was compared to Earth. There were virtually no restrictions, and the denizens were far nicer than nearly everyone the brothers had seen before. Nothing had a price attached to it, everyone helped each other instinctively, and the people of the planet were more than willing to share their resources and knowledge with the newcomers.

Included in said knowledge was the thing that the brothers had longed for - the knowledge on how to use their newfound magic. Turns out, it had been a lot easier than they had thought, although it did require them to perform some significant upgrades to their bodies. With a number of proficient mages willing to tutor them, it didn’t take long for them to get the hang of it.

“Remember,” the girl known as Sophia had told them, “We don’t really know what magic is, but we’ve defined it as a power that attempts to turn the user’s imagination into reality. If you think of it like that, it becomes way easier to use it.”

That mentality had served the brothers well - and, to their surprise, their magic had turned out to be even stronger than they anticipated. Sophia had attributed that to the fact that their bodies were made of Imperium, which had a much higher concentration of magical energy than the bodies of normal Nanosapients. The result was that Louis and Jacques now wielded powers far beyond their wildest dreams, able to make what was once impossible, possible.

Louis remembered the day he had attempted the most ambitious action he had done on Territe - the construction of a grand castle to test the limits of his magic. They had all the resources available - that sorcerer Magnus had specifically recommended building it in the mountains to exploit its seemingly limitless natural wealth. So, they had tried it - and to their utter shock, the structure basically built itself. All Louis and Jacques had to do was concentrate, visualize what they wanted it to look like, and exert their confidence and willpower. Before they knew it, all the materials seemingly assembled themselves to match their vision, taking mere days instead of the months it would have normally taken. Words couldn’t describe how happy the brothers had felt at that moment.

From their newly constructed home in the mountains, the two of them explored the world with a fervent desire to learn everything, befriending the incredibly amicable denizens of the planet along the way. Everyone they met seemed to have a desire to get to know them and befriend them, which was something that the brothers found baffling. They had almost never experienced that on Earth.

Discovering an unsullied world of miracles, wielding powers beyond human imagination, and living amongst the purehearted denizens - that was how they had spent the last month. For the two of them, “dream come true” was a massive understatement.

 

Melody played the last note of the song before taking a deep bow.

Standing before the bard, Louis clapped enthusiastically, the metallic sounds echoing through the chamber. The blonde girl approached the dark knight and asked an expected question: “How was it?”

“Breathtaking, Melody.” Louis said in awe. “Your musical skill truly is unmatched.”

Melody blushed a bit as she accepted the compliment. “Aw, you don’t have to praise me that much! Anyways, I’m curious - did you feel my magic?”

Louis stroked the chin of his helmet. “Unfortunately, no. Your music was quite magical, but I didn’t feel any surges of emotion matching the ones you predicted would happen. My body is unlike that of your species - it is a machine. Perhaps that is why I can’t experience some of the things you do.”

“Oh…” Melody said as her face fell. “That’s a shame.”

The bard looked out the window, noticing that it was almost noon. “Forgive me, but I have to leave now. I’ve got some errands to take care of.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Louis told her. “Thank you for your time.”

“No, thank you for having me!” Melody replied cheerily, bowing as she backed out of the door.

As the castle doors drifted shut, Louis sighed. While he was fairly mature for his age, he was still quite young - in fact, he believed that he was younger than the majority of the people he had met here. Putting on a mature and composed act for the denizens of this planet was proving to be quite difficult.

 _How is it possible for beings to be so pure?_ Louis wondered. Every Nanosapient he had met had been unceasingly kind and immeasurably polite, devoid of even a single atom of ill intent. _Could it be possible...for us to be like that?_

His train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the castle doors slamming open again. A winged golden gladiator stumbled in, the once-magnificent scarlet plume on his head was on fire.

“Big brother? What happened to you?” Louis asked urgently.

Jacques sighed, patting out the flame on his head. “Never,” he groaned exasperatedly, “permit me to try cooking with Xander Galante again. For the record, you shouldn’t try it either. It would benefit all parties involved.”

“Uh...okay?”

 

“Ah,” Sophia mused. “So Melody’s music had no effect on you?”

Louis nodded. “Apparently not. It’s probably something to do with our bodies.”

“Hmm. From the research you’ve helped me with recently, I can deduce that your bodies produce an abnormally strong magical field.” Sophia told them. “Judging from the information that I’ve gathered from her, the magic she uses to induce emotions with her music is of a rather low power level.”

Jacques was intrigued. “Hold up, the other day we discovered that magic has a tendency to repel other magic. Could that be the reason why it had no effect?”

Sophia sighed. “It’s not perfect, but that’s the conclusion I’ve come to for now. Your magic fields seem to passively deflect low-level magic regardless of whether you will it to or not. Of course, it could be a matter of your minds - Melody’s magic seems to directly signal the mind of its target, which then sends signals to the rest of their body. Perhaps a mechanical mind cannot process these signals.”

“Interesting.” Louis mused, wondering if he should try and hide the fact that neither of these bodies had real minds to begin with.

Sophia wasn’t finished, though. “So, how is your magic holding up? Those tools serving you well?”

Louis and Jacques raised their right hands, each of which bore a heavy gauntlet the same color of their armor. Each glove was plain, save for a hexagonal Imperium gemstone embedded in their centers. Sophia had told them most Nanos needed a conduit to fully channel their magical abilities, but she hypothesized that their bodies of Imperium would allow them to bypass this. However, they had still showed interest in attaining such a conduit. After Ken had taught them the basics of blacksmithing, the two of them had crafted these two gauntlets, designed to bring out even more power than they did already.

After they had finished, Ken had praised them. However, he had no idea why Louis jokingly suggested that Jacques paint certain parts of his armor purple. He also had no idea why Jacques opposed that idea so strongly. Perhaps it was just the logic of their species.

Sophia had been very interested in them ever since she had gotten to know them. She was curious to see what an Imperium machine could accomplish, and the brothers were eager to assist her with her experiments on their magic. Through their tests, experiments, and even magical duels, Sophia had learned a lot. For one thing, the brothers’ magical power seemed to be far higher than that of the average Nano, but she suspected that their maximum power was inferior. Another thing was that magic, especially magical attacks, seemed to dampen other magic. During some of their mock-up fights, the brothers had found it quite difficult to strike each other with magical attacks. And when Sophia had gotten them to attack one of her magical shields, it had taken quite a bit of effort from both brothers to break it - less effort than if they had used a physical or energy-based attack on it.

It was a curious discovery. After all, Nanos almost never used magic against each other, so it was quite the new experience.

With this in mind, Louis answered. “Yes. These work exceptionally well, and our magic is only improving with practice.”

Sophia smiled. “Good to hear. I’d love to try some more tests today, but I’m a little pressed for time. I’ve got to go help my father with some construction.”

“That’s okay.” Jacques told her. “Thank you for your time.”

Sophia bowed as she teleported out of the castle.

 

Louis leaned back on the bench he had built and sighed. “This place sure is busy, huh?”

Jacques nodded. “Everyone wants to find out more about us, or just help us. It’s an interesting feeling, but it’s justified. This might be a new world for us, but we’re also a new species to them. It’s reasonable that they’re curious about us, just as we are about them.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.” Louis said. “In fact, I kind of like it. Not necessarily being at the center of attention, but just living with all of these people.”

His brother was about to reply, but he was cut off by a knock at the castle door.

“Huh?” Jacques said, confused. “That’s odd. I don’t think we knew anyone was going to come at this time.”

“Yeah, I thought that Sophia was the last visitor today.” Louis replied. “Oh well. I wonder who it is this time?”

The black knight threw open the door. Looking around, he didn’t see anything until he looked a bit downwards, upon which he saw two small children eagerly staring up at him. The kids had brown hair and eyes a majestic shade of navy. They wore matching clothes - a navy shirt, beige pants, and brown boots.

 _These kids look an awful lot like Ken and Yuki._ Louis thought. _Hold up, didn’t Ken and Yuki say that they had a pair of kids?_

“Er...hello.” Louis offered. “Who might you be?”

The young boy pouted. “Ehh? Our parents didn’t tell you about us? I’m Yu, and this is my sister Kana! We’re the Radiant Swords' kids -  the Nebulous Angels!”

“Don’t worry, they told us all about you.” Jacques said hurriedly. “Forgive my brother’s questionable memory. Regardless, it’s nice to meet you in person.”

Louis was a little miffed at his brother’s comment, but let it slide. “Same here.”

Jacques knelt down so that he was at eye level with the two children. “So, what brings you here?”

“Ah, it’s nothing special!” Yu told him. “We just wanted to meet you in person, that’s all! You guys look so cool!”

“Er...thank you.” Louis said slowly, a bit taken aback by their enthusiasm.

Kana smiled at them. “We also made gifts for you! We love our planet with every bit of our beings, and I’m sure you will come to love it too. So we made a little something for you as a bit of a welcome!”

Yu held out his hands, revealing a pair of silver wristwatches shaped like five-pointed stars. “We understand that time here might be a bit different than your home, so Kana came up with the idea to make you watches. Er...we’re still learning how to make things like this, so I know they might not be the best…”

“No, they’re wonderful.” Louis told them as Jacques gratefully took them. “Thank you so much. You didn’t really have to make these for us, you know...”

“We just wanted to!” Yu assured them. “No need to thank us!”

Jacques and Louis seemed a bit lost for words.

Seeing this, Kana tried for a conversation starter. “So, I’m curious...what’s your world like? Looking up into the sky, that planet seems kind of plain.”

“Uh…” Louis offered, trying to think of an explanation. “Well, it kind of is. I guess me and my big brother just made machines to enjoy ourselves.”

Yu was stunned. “For that long?”

“Hey, we aren’t _that_ old. In fact, I think I’m actually not a lot older than you two.” Louis told them.

“You’re kidding!” Kana gasped. “Really?”

Jacques chuckled. “I suppose so.”

Yu wasn’t done yet, though. “And you’re sure you don’t remember anything before what you told us? It seems kind of odd just to wake up on a planet like that.”

“Uh...I don’t remember anything before that…”

Yu smiled. “Maybe if we guess, it might ring a bell. Kana, make something up. Let’s start with...uh, the most far-fetched origin story you can think of.”

Kana thought about that for a moment. Then, she spoke up. “Oh! What if you two are actually just robot bodies created and controlled by another species? Like...maybe even humans!”

Louis and Jacques flinched. “W-what?”

Kana went on. “And what if you’re just not aware that you’re controlling yourselves from somewhere far away? And you landed on that planet and lost your memories somehow?”

Yu laughed. “That’s a great story, Kana. It even matches the description of what I asked for! That would be impossible! Right, guys?”

Louis and Jacques slowly turned and looked at each other, before making a silent agreement. They were curious to see how this ended.

“...What if we told you that you were right?”

Yu and Kana, who were in the middle of playful banter, froze. “What?”

The brothers nodded. “Please, though. Keep this a secret, okay?”

Yu was the first one to respond. “That’s...so...COOL!”

Louis was stunned. “Huh?”

Yu jumped up and down excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to meet a human! And even if it’s in a robot body, I still met one today! Are all the things our parents told you about your might true? Can you actually eclipse the sun with one hand? Cause a hurricane with a single breath? Can you really do all of that?”

Jacques did some mental math. “Uh...yes?”

Kana beamed. “I finally get to meet a human! Our parents told us all about your species. But there’s something I found a bit confusing. Even with all your power...is it true that you don’t actually have any special abilities?”

That struck a nerve with Louis, even though he didn’t show it. Even in this new world, with all the magical power that he wielded, the truth still stood that the body behind his mechanical body still had almost no power. However, he swallowed this and replied to her question. “Yes. That is true.”

The two kids squeed and laughed as the brothers tried to answer all of their questions to the best of their ability. However, Jacques soon realized that they hadn’t seemed to have heard their earlier request. “Hey, I know you two are excited and all, but we need you to keep this a secret. We...uh...we didn’t really want anyone to know.”

“Oh, don’t worry! Your secret is safe with us!” Yu exclaimed. “Right, sis?”

Kana nodded vigorously. “For sure! Plus, we might just forget it later. That happens.”

Yu went on. “But I’m actually so happy right now to meet you two! Wait...no, imagine if you could meet us, but in your actual bodies! That would be cool!”

Jacques scratched his head. “Uh...I’m not sure if that would be very safe for you. We’d hate to cause you any harm by accident.”

Kana elbowed her brother. “As cool as that sounds, I think they’re right. Remember that humans are _huge_. Mom and dad were only able to survive with those researchers because of their special equipment or something. If we met actual humans, it wouldn’t go well for us. We would probably get smushed if one so much as breathed on us.”

“Ah…” Yu muttered, crestfallen. “I guess you’re right.”

They were about to ask another round of questions, but the siblings heard the voice of their mother in their minds. _“Hey, kids? It’s getting kind of late, and I think you guys should come back now. I could use your help here.”_

Yu gave a mental answer to his mother and sister. _“Alright! We’re on our way.”_

Kana stepped back and bowed to the two brothers. “We’re sorry, but we have to go now. Our mom needs us for something.”

“If you need to leave, then you are free to leave.” Jacques told them. “Thank you for your time, and thank you for these wonderful gifts.”

Louis tried for a small bow. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

The siblings backed out of the door, waving. “Nice to meet you too!”

 

Louis and Jacques had been living a perfect second life on Territe, free of nearly everything that they didn’t like about the world they truly lived in. Yet as Louis looked over the sunset-lit fields from the balcony of his castle, he couldn’t help but feel the smallest bit...empty.

This world was free of conflict, which was a good thing. But a story without a conflict has no action. A story without action can’t really be a story. And over the last couple of days, he had been feeling a nagging thought in his mind - using that logic, the fantasy story he had just entered was, as wondrous as it was, incomplete.

_I suppose I have to admit…that this planet needs some form of conflict to give it some action. But in order to have conflict, there should be a villain. But everyone in this planet is far too purehearted to be a villain…_

... _Except us._

In that moment, he was overtaken by a selfish question. _How would the planet respond if I became it’s villain?_

Louis breathed a shaky sigh. He had little confidence that this was going to end well. But he was curious. And curiosity was a strong motivator.

Slowly, he walked up to his brother and told him his idea.

The eyes of both his real body and his avatar widened. “What?”

Louis nodded simply.

Jacques gave him a stern look. “We’ve just gotten accustomed to this world, and befriended so many of its inhabitants. Are you willing to trade all of that away to become evil, so the story of your imagination can take form?”

Louis hesitated, then nodded. “I am. I need to know what it will be like.”

Jacques sighed. “I don’t know what to think of this myself. But you seem to be aware of what your actions will entail, and you accept them. Therefore, I know you truly want to do this. And if you want to do it...I’ll stand by your side.”

The younger brother bowed to him. “Thank you. It means a lot.”

Jacques bowed in return. “Anything for my little brother. I’ll start plans and preparations. This is an ambitious idea you’ve got, but I’m sure we can pull it off.”

As his older brother left, Louis leaned on his balcony and looked at the vast land before him. A flawless world that could only be described as a miracle - and he was about to make it his enemy. Now, it was just a matter of seeing what would become of the world when it was faced with a threat like himself. Surely, there would be some radiant heroes that would valiantly oppose him. That would be something.

And as he thought about it, his real body couldn’t suppress a small smile.

“Huh...world domination might not be so bad after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at making villain motivations. The one I came up with is basically just an excuse.


	3. Conquest 1

Things weren’t going so good on Territe. It had been merely a month since those two robotic newcomers had arrived, and things had already taken a turn for the worse. Without reason and without warning, the two of them had suddenly surfaced with numerous robotic armies and had started sweeping the planet in what could only be called a conquest.

They hadn’t been _too_ bad, admittedly. The locations that surrendered to them without a fight had all of their people spared - not to mention those two didn’t seem to actually _do_ a lot with the villages and towns they captured. But the fact still stood that they seemed to be trying to take over the planet, and had killed quite a few Nanos along the way. The denizens of the planet couldn’t stand for that.

Whether its citizens wanted it or not, Electi Terram had become the centerpiece of the sudden war. Perhaps it was just where the highest concentration of Nano strength was, or perhaps it was just close to the enemy’s main base. Regardless, the brothers had been seemingly going for the areas around that general region first. It made strategic sense to try and go for the most powerful opponents first, after all.

Still, though, the question still stood: why _did_ those brothers suddenly decide to go down this path? They had seemed fairly nice before this, so what had driven them to turn on the planet and its denizens?

However, that was a question that would have to wait. Some scouts from Aurora had detected an army slowly forming near their city, and the planet’s strongest fighters had been called into action to defend it. They could maybe get the answers out of the brothers - preferably before any fighting was necessary.

But first, a certain pair of parents had matters to attend to.

 

“Ehhh? Why can’t we come?”

At the breakfast table, Yu complained as Ken and Yuki prepared for combat. Needless to say, the two kids were more than willing to assist their parents in the defense of Aurora, but to their dismay their parents had requested that they stay at home.

“We appreciate your sentiments, kids.” Yuki told them. “But until we figure out exactly what these guys are doing and what they’re capable of, it’s far too dangerous for you guys to be fighting there. We need you to stay safe.”

“Aww!” Kana pouted. “We want to defend our planet, and we want to help you!”

Ken knelt down and ruffled their hair. “Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all about it. It’s not that we don’t think you’re strong, it’s just that we don’t want to risk putting you in any danger until we know more about these new foes.”

“Tell you what,” Yuki offered. “How about once we’ve determined how dangerous these guys are and how they fight, we might let you come and help defend the planet. How does that sound?”

Yu and Kana perked up. “That would be fantastic!”

Yuki laughed. “Alright, then. Well, we’re off. Stay safe, guys.”

“Good luck!”

 

Along the muddy, rainy outskirts of Aurora, Territe’s strongest warriors were preparing for battle. The two Auroran military commanders stood at the ready, guns in their hands. Mitama had her hood on and sword planted in the ground as she surveyed the area, her sister’s cloak billowing in the wind as she twirled her wand aimlessly. Sophia stood ready at her father’s side, the Magnum chief in turn speaking to his esteemed student Julius, the chief of Eulogia. Melody was playing songs to boost the morale of the Auroran and Magnum troops, while Xander pondered what types of arrows would be good against robots.

In a flash of light, Ken and Yuki teleported in. “How’s it going?”

“Ah, you’re here.” Joseph said. “Preparations are all complete. Everyone’s ready for battle, and the enemy army draws nearer by the second. With this much power concentrated here, I’m sure that we should be able to take this victory. Heh...this reminds me of that time you guys helped us defend our city all those years ago.”

Ken sighed, despite remembering how injured he had become during that fight. “Yeah. Good times.”

Anthony perked up. “They’re here.”

The Radiant Swords turned towards the horizon as they saw a metallic horde marching into view. It was a well-staffed army - not as big as the one they had fought at the human research lab, but still well surpassing ten thousand machines armed with various pieces of ballistic weaponry. Spearheading the army were none other than the Durand brothers themselves. Louis’ jet-black armor seemed to both reflect and absorb all light that touched it, while Jacques’ golden body seemed to glower with a warm heat.

About 500 meters away, the opposing army halted their advance as Louis walked to the head of the army. Cupping his hands over the space where his mouth was supposed to be, he used his magic to amplify his voice. “Citizens of Aurora! In case you somehow didn’t know already, my name is Louis. To put things bluntly, I’m here to take over this city. Surrender peacefully and you won’t be harmed, but we will not hesitate to take this place by force if necessary! ...Can I not say this again? This speech is getting on my nerves.”

In response, Ken stepped forward and did the same. “Louis! It has only been a month since you last arrived, but you and your brother had seemed like good people. You two had been enjoying your life on this planet...so tell me why! Why do you turn against us so suddenly? Is there some kind of reason for this? Because if so, we wish to know it!”

Louis’ eyes burned a brilliant scarlet from within his helmet. “I suppose I can say this much. I’m simply curious.”

“W-what?”

The black knight sighed. “This world is admittedly a paradise. But it lacks action - action that needs a conflict to start. And if I need to become a villain to start this conflict, I’m willing to take that fall. I’m eager to see how this ends - whether I succeed or fail is not my concern. I just want to watch it unfold.”

Ken was a bit shocked. “What? So you’re saying this is just a game?”

Louis’ gaze hardened. “I have said enough. All that you need to know is that I am your enemy now. And my previous statement still requires an answer. Will you surrender peacefully?”

Before anyone else could do anything, a yell could be heard from the backline - one that was unmistakably Joseph’s. “Alright, then. How’s _this_ for an answer!”

With a single gesture, upwards of four dozen artillery emplacements simultaneously opened fire, sending a gigantic fusillade of concentrated destruction screaming towards the opposing army. Louis and Jacques raised their hands and formed a shield over as much of the army as they could, right before the barrage struck. By the time everyone’s ears had stopped ringing, a majority of the enemy army had already been blasted into molten slag. Then, amidst the burning wreckage, Louis stepped out of the smoke with his brother and remaining army behind him.

“You’ve made your choice! Now, have at you!” he roared.

The two opposing armies yelled as they rushed into battle, slamming headlong into each other and engaging in a furious brawl. The sounds of gunfire echoed through the area as the bullets of both sides tore apart the rain itself. But, only after a couple of minutes, the battle was shifting heavily in the defenders’ favor. It seemed that the opposing machines were either prototypes or hastily designed, because their strength seemed to be the equivalent of a mid-level Mechanoid. Against the superbly trained might of the Auroran army and the backup of the magical fighters, the robots fell remarkably quickly. Even as both sides took shots, none of the Nanos had died thanks to the healing and support of their Magnum allies.

Sophia waded around the muddy battlefield, maintaining a large blue shield that deflected the enemies’ shots just as easily as the falling raindrops. Within her protective shield, numerous Auroran soldiers and Magnum mages sought refuge, unleashing searing rays of destruction in all directions without fear of retaliation. At the center of the dome, Sophia herself pointed her sword at any enemies she saw her squad miss, obliterating them with both magical bursts and lethal shots from her sword’s built-in rail cannon.

Some distance away, Magnus and Julius plowed their way into the enemy flank, the Magnum chief showing off his immense power with bombardments of white-hot fire that liquefied his opponents’ metallic bodies like they were made of butter. While there were some that could sneak past his storm, those ones just met a swift end at the blades of his staff instead. At his side, his student aimed his heavy crossbow, taking down multiple machines with each shot. He had improved the arrow-enchanting skills Magnus had taught him, and now each one of his arrows packed a different flavor of widespread magical destruction.

“Magnus is so cool!” Hibiki squeed. “I want to be as strong as him!”

Mitama sighed. “Perhaps that will happen someday. As of now, you should probably take care of those vehicles heading our way.”

Hibiki turned around to see that there was indeed a battalion of tanks headed their way, but they were a safe distance from herself and all of her comrades - which meant that the young mage could brush them off as an annoyance. With a wave of her wand, she sent an azure comet hurtling at the battalion, which detonated in a massive explosion that utterly erased everything within the area. Once the flames cleared, the tanks were nowhere to be found, and the mud within the blast radius had been essentially baked.

Mitama nodded at her sister. “Ah, so you’ve learned how to control your explosions more. That’s a great improvement, Hibiki.”

Hibiki smiled. “Thanks, Mitama!”

Julius looked at his teacher incredulously. “Explain to me again how that kid is so powerful?”

Magnus just shrugged. “Eh, I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”

Next to the sisters, Melody sang a song of bravery and determination, invigorating the soldiers fighting alongside her with furious energy. Her negative auras didn’t seem to work on those machines, so she had opted to use her magic for boosting her teammates instead of trying to fight with her sub-par offensive magic. At her side, Xander shot arrow after glowing arrow into the horde, setting off multicolored explosions that reduced the machines to scrap. Wanting to try something Mitama had taught him, he raised his bow in the air and channeled his magic. Numerous heptagrams appeared in the air, which then proceeded to shoot out waves of arrows. The incoming wave of gunners was torn to shreds, their gunfire deflecting off of Melody’s shielding.

Mitama noticed that Xander had tried her technique. “Nice job.”

“Thanks.” Xander replied simply.

Hibiki pointed and waved as a swarm of aerial units resembling planes were spotted flying towards them, unleashing waves of lasers and rockets upon the defending army. Several soldiers were struck by incoming projectiles and collapsed, Melody immediately shielding them and trying to heal their wounds. As Mitama surveyed the situation, she got an idea and told Hibiki.

With a playful laugh, Hibiki created a triangular rune on the floor. Mitama stepped onto it and was immediately launched skywards. Soaring through the air, she slammed into the first flying machine and drove her sword through its armor. As the machine faltered, she ignited its insides before dashing to the next plane in its formation and doing the same. Before they realized it, Mitama had systematically decimated the entire plane squadron, and had dived off the burning wreckage back to the ground.

What planes Mitama didn’t demolish were promptly destroyed by Auroran gunfire. In the midst of the chaos, Anthony and Joseph laughed heartily as they fired their weapons like madmen, cutting a burning swath through the enemy lines. Even without magic, the training and high-tech weaponry of the Auroran army was still a force to be reckoned with. While he was doing this, Joseph still had time to bark out orders to his troops, directing them with precision only befitting of a commander as skilled as himself. Soon Mitama dropped down from above, and she began tearing through machines at a terrifying speed, becoming a whirlwind of flashing metal.

The Durand brothers had not idly sat by and watched their troops be obliterated, however. Their gauntlets glowering with power, the two of them had been unleashing all manner of magical mayhem onto the defenders that had attempted to go directly for them. As Magnum mages hurled waves of fire and lightning at him, Louis made a sweeping gesture with his hand, emitting a magical pulse that snuffed out the projectiles. Clenching his fist, he unleashed a crimson ray from his gauntlet, searing the ground and turning the rain into steam. The beam forced all the Magnum to stop attacking or shield themselves, lest they wished to be disintegrated. An Auroran tank wasn’t lucky enough to get out of the way, and the drivers had to leap out right before Louis’ attack cut it cleanly in half.

Jacques had taken to the skies with his metallic wings, looking like an angel of war as he surveyed the area. Auroran troops unleashed waves of gunfire upon him - which he admittedly couldn’t completely deflect. As the bullets that pierced his shield ricocheted off of his golden armor, he made slashing gestures with his hand to create crescent-shaped bursts of magic that exploded on impact, scattering the soldiers.

Noticing an isolated soldier holding his own against a squad of his machines, Jacques tucked in his wings and dived straight at him, creating a crackling blade of light in his hands. Just as he was about to impale the unaware man, a burst of magical force threw him off course and forced him to stumble to a hasty landing.

Turning in the direction of the attack, Jacques’ eyes widened as he saw none other than Ken Hoshizora and Yuki no Hikari standing before him, blades at the ready and a burning path of destroyed machines in their wake. Hovering in place, he alerted his younger brother to their presence.

With a single, magically-assisted leap, Louis landed next to his brother, scattering mud everywhere. His gauntlet crystal glowing bright orange, the knight reached to the sky and made a pulling motion with his hand. Immediately, the sky above them seemed to fracture as countless fireballs suddenly appeared and rained down on the two swordfighters standing before them. As Ken nimbly leapt around the meteors, Jacques clenched his fist, causing the mud to erupt into countless earthen spikes that snaked towards their targets. One struck Ken and knocked him aside, only for him to immediately get back up and chop the next ones into pieces before rushing at the brothers. Yuki’s magically-charged katana demolished spikes and meteors alike as she rushed towards the enemy as well.

Ken skidded to a stop barely two meters from Louis, took aim, and lunged. There was a metallic clank as Louis blocked the strike with his right forearm, the concentrated magic in his gauntlet serving to lessen the damage of the blow. As Yuki leapt in from the side to slash at him, the blade was deflected by Jacques using his wings to shield his younger brother. While the attack scratched gashes in a couple of Jacques’ metallic feathers, Louis was unharmed.

Ken and Yuki leapt backwards and stood on guard as the brothers’ gauntlets started to glow again. Within seconds, Louis had created a massive, double-edged greatsword at least a meter long, formed of pale, crackling magic. Jacques raised his hand as a magical lance materialized in his grasp, its point a V-shaped blade rather than a conventional spearhead.

“Ah, heroes.” Louis said. “So you’ve come to challenge us! Well, I’m not one to waste time - let us begin. En garde!”

 

The battle had been going on for about five minutes, and the Radiant Swords were already seeing a noticeable gap between the power levels of the robotic army and their leaders. Apparently training with Sophia, combined with their own research into the art, had made them incredibly powerful sorcerers, and their robotic bodies possessed far more strength than they had expected. Ken recalled helping the brothers make the gauntlets that had served as their conduits. He would have never dreamed that they would one day be turned against him.

Louis raised his magic blade and swung downwards violently, only for Yuki to roll out of the way as the blade slammed into the mud and generated a spiderweb of flaming fissures in the ground. She quickly got to her feet, leapt around the cracks, and swung her blade again, digging into the onyx knight’s shoulder. If he felt the pain, he didn’t show it - immediately grasping his sword and swinging it upwards. Yuki stumbled backwards to avoid being cleaved in half before unleashing a burst of lightning, which seemed to crackle and flow over Louis’ armor instead of burning it like she had intended.

 _Ah, that’s right,_ she remembered. _As long as their bodies are magically charged, they have a tendency to nullify incoming magic._

She ducked again as Louis swung his blade in a wide arc in front of him. The knight was heavily armored for sure, but he also seemed to be quite slow. However, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a single strike from Louis was liable to kill her instantly. She had to stay cautious.

Meanwhile, Ken attacked and blocked skillfully as Jacques used his wings for all they were worth, zooming around while going in for rapid lance strikes from all directions. While he seemed much more mobile than his brother, it also seemed like he had considerably less power in his strikes. Ken deflected the attacks with relative ease, but it was also nearly impossible for him to counterattack since Jacques was flying. As the flying gladiator launched a magical lance at him, Ken knocked it aside with his blade before unleashing a blast of flame, which washed over his opponent’s barrier but still seemed to cause him some issues. He needed to somehow cripple Jacques’ wings, otherwise he was going to get outlasted.

With a shout, a number of the Radiant Swords’ friends suddenly blasted through the final line of robots, the others along with the Auroran army occupying the remainder so that they could assist the swordfighting duo. All of them quickly surveyed the situation and went to work accordingly.

Joseph and Anthony tore up the sky with gunfire, with the intention of shooting Jacques out of the sky so that they could go to town on him. Many of their bullets were dodged or deflected, but a number of them struck true and exploded, knocking his flight off course. Jacques raised a hand and unleashed a flurry of fireballs, forcing the two soldiers to duck for cover - but the damage had been done. His wings were now too damaged to maintain stable flight, and he was forced to land.

Meanwhile, Louis found himself being pressured by attacks from all directions. The instant she had arrived, Mitama had immediately shot at him like a bullet and was now harassing him from every angle with absurdly fast bladework coupled with constant flares of magical lightning. While his magical armor nulled the majority of the magical bursts, he was finding it hard to block all of the warrior’s strikes with his bulky build and large sword. His armor was strong, for sure, but Mitama’s strikes were slowly wearing away at it.

Jacques ran up to help his brother, only for a flaming arrow to strike his shoulder and knock him to the ground. Looking to his right, he saw Xander with his bow raised, another glowing arrow ready to fire. Beside him, Melody stood firm, a radiant aura pulsing from her harp and empowering her brother. As Xander fired the next arrow, Jacques made a pushing motion to shatter it in midair, before hurling a thunderbolt of his own at the archer. Before it could strike, however, Ken lunged and slashed the blast out of the air, destroying it. Crackling bolts of lightning sizzled around him as he raised his sword and charged at Jacques, forcing the golden warrior to counterattack with his lance.

But the fact still stood that despite his mechanical strength, Jacques had just picked up his fighting skills merely a month ago - while Ken had been practicing ever since he had been able to lift a sword. With that kind of a skill difference, and now that Jacques was grounded, the golden warrior only lasted for about two minutes before Ken disarmed him. Jacques tried to create another weapon, but his magical field had been weakened by his constant, reckless use of magic. As such, he was unable to block Xander’s next volley of arrows, which tore through his legs and sent him crumpling to the ground.

Louis noticed this and moved in to defend his downed brother, only for him to be held tightly in place by an unseen force. A couple meters away, Hibiki pointed her wand at him, channeling her magic. She had a distinct expression of annoyance on her face - the fact that the fight was so close to her and her friends meant that she was unable to let loose with her strongest magic, and was forced to use her far weaker immobilizing magic instead. Louis strained against the invisible bonds and very well could have broken out, if Mitama hadn’t pointed her sword at him and added her own power to the immobilization.

Louis growled in frustration as he raised a hand and dissolved his sword, his gauntlet crystal glowing red as he summoned a white-hot fireball. However, this attack was soon cut short as Yuki swooped in and took advantage of his weakened magic field, slicing off his right hand at the elbow. As Louis silently gaped at the sparking machinery that was now spilling out of his arm, Yuki lunged at his chestplate, the katana piercing right through the weathered Imperium armor.

Louis’ body smoked and sparked as he collapsed to his knees. Nearby, Jacques attempted to get up again, but the smoke pouring from his knee joints indicated that he wouldn’t be very successful in his efforts. Within the next couple of seconds, every gun, sword, bow, wand, and harp in the immediate area was aimed at their heads.

Jacques lowered his head in defeat as Louis’s eyes narrowed. “Hah...well done, heroes. It seems you have bested us...for now, at least. I suppose you win this battle.”

“There won’t be a next battle.” Yuki told him confidently. “You two are finished. Your armies have been destroyed, and you’ve been damaged too much to keep fighting. Accept our mercy and surrender peacefully, or we will be forced to end you here.”

To their surprise, Louis let out a small chuckle. “Is that so?”

Yuki yelped and stepped back as a flash of metal zipped in front of her, cleanly separating the onyx knight’s head from his shoulders. A second flash, and the gilded warrior beside him was swiftly decapitated. Blade glowing with harsh light, Mitama sheathed her sword, her downed adversaries collapsing in smoking heaps beside her.

She looked around at her friends’ stunned faces and lowered her head. “My apologies. With the tone he was using, I suspected that he had some trick up his sleeve. I figured that the safest option was to finish them with haste.”

“Aw, Mitama!” Hibiki complained. “What if they had wanted to surrender peacefully? You didn’t have to kill them, did you?”

“Sister, I admit that I acted rashly. But for your own safety, you’ve got to learn that not everyone in this universe is as kind as we are. Everyone on this planet is pure of heart, but these two newcomers are _not from our planet_. I want everyone to stay safe - even if I have to do things like this.”

Hibiki nodded, although her frown seemed to indicate a different opinion.

“Well, that’s taken care of!” Joseph sighed, holstering his rifle. “I’ll admit that I really wanted to know more about where they came from, but I can understand your logic. Better safe than sorry.”

“Hmm...I suppose so.” Ken mused. “But still, what were-”

He was cut off by an abrupt flash of red from a couple meters in front of them. As the group turned and stared, the newly-formed sphere of blood-red light expanded and burst into a nova of brilliant rays. When the light cleared, the beings that appeared before them were none other than Louis and Jacques, standing over their own destroyed bodies.

Mitama was flabbergasted. “W-what?”

“Whaaaa?” Hibiki sputtered.

“How is that possible?” Ken and Yuki breathed in unison.

“We just destroyed you!” Joseph and Anthony yelled. “How?”

Xander could do nothing but shake his head in disbelief as Melody gaped.

Louis let out a low chuckle. “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you? You may be strong, but the two of us are persistent. Persistent enough that a single death is merely a minor setback.”

“You may defeat us, but we will always return.” Jacques continued. “Slay us ten times, or a hundred - we won’t stay down for long. That is our promise.”

Anthony growled. “How the hell is that possible?”

Mitama raised her sword and lunged at lightning speed, only for Louis to forcefully repel her attack with a magic shield. As Mitama skidded to a stop in the mud, Louis narrowed his eyes again. “I have told you - you have won this battle. As such, we will admit our defeat and leave you for now. But mark my words - this isn’t the last you’ve heard of us, heroes. We look forward to our next battle.”

And with a flash of scarlet light, the brothers vanished.

All of the Nanos were in shock. As Julius and Magnus ran up to them, Ken pointed at the spot where the brothers were. “Did you see that?”

“Yes.” Magnus answered grimly. He knelt down and felt the cold metal bodies that had once belonged to their adversaries, now devoid of all magical emissions. “I have no idea how they managed to pull this off, but we must stay strong. Clearly there is more to these two than meets the eye, and I will have to look into it. For now, I suppose I can congratulate us all on a battle well fought. There have been no casualties, and all of the wounded are being treated as we speak. Forget about this for now - we will see to this problem later.”

So as the battlefield cleared out and people helped clear away all of the destroyed machines, the Nanos soon went their separate ways. But all of them had left with a feeling of uncertainty and fear. They had won the battle, for sure - but they had a sinking feeling that the war had just begun.


	4. Conquest 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter this time around, and I estimate that pretty much all of the chapters after this are going to be of a similar length. I don't mind, though. It's good practice.

It was a bright Saturday morning on Earth. Jacques Durand had just gone out to go buy some groceries for him and his brother. Meanwhile at home, Louis hummed cheerfully to himself as he cooked a spinach-and-cheese omelette for when his brother returned. It was a nice day, and they planned on going outside for a bit. However, of course, they had quite a few matters to take care of indoors as well.

As Jacques returned and thanked Louis for his breakfast, the younger brother went off to go complete the pages of math that he had assigned himself for the day. While he didn’t really like doing it, he felt that it was quite important to keep learning even while on break. It’d give him a major edge when he returned to school, he hoped.

As he worked, Jacques sidled up to him. “Hey, your friend Yuna just texted us. She had just gotten us a new Admiral, and she said that he had an idea to streamline a couple things on Territe.”

Louis finished up the page as he pondered that for a bit. Their conquest on Territe had been going pretty well for them over the last month or so - they had learned quite a bit from the experience, and thanks to the preparations of his older brother they were practically immortal. With the new knowledge they were gaining from their constant battles, the brothers had been able to provide their robotic avatars with constant upgrades.

But it turned out that a villain needed commanders of sorts, preferably ones that weren’t controlled by computers. So after a lengthy debate, Louis had decided to _very carefully_ start sharing their secret project with their close friends, although he had endorsed the right to hold back some information about what he was sharing. Jacques had learned how to rig up some more headsets, and had done that for the few individuals they had selected. Within due time, their friends had graciously accepted their offer - looking past the fact that they were about to become villains, and instead seeing it as an opportunity to play around in the miracle world the brothers had introduced them to. After creating their own avatars, these individuals became known as the Admirals - the vice-commanders of their forces.

Just a few Admirals weren’t enough, though. Louis had begrudgingly decided to allow his friends to spread the word as well, although he had given them specific instructions to share it with _extreme_ care. Before they knew it, they started receiving more requests for the position of Admiral, and soon they had a fairly well-staffed squad of second-in-commands to assist them.

Jacques, however, was secretly a bit worried. He had no idea if their true selves were like this or they were just letting loose a bit, but some of the Admirals were a little...extreme, to say the least. And regardless of their motives or personalities, all of them looked up to and respected the brothers - either for their leadership, power, or simply just as thanks for giving them the position. He was a bit concerned with their commanders being a bad influence for his little brother - especially since their respect for him had already sparked a change in Louis. Compared to when he had started his career as Territe’s resident villain, Louis had become a little bit less noble and a lot more pragmatic, no doubt a result of his assistants’ admiration and ideas.

Jacques appreciated pragmatism, of course. He had watched and read about numerous villains, and pragmatism was a key element to victory. However, he wanted his little brother to be happy, above all. If the pressure from the Admirals was stopping Louis from being the villain _he_ wanted to be, then he might just have to intervene.

However, that day had not come yet. “How’s that story of yours going along?”

Louis looked up and smiled. “I told you, it’s more of a documentation...but for your information, it’s going great. Our experiences in the new world have given me so much inspiration!”

“Good to hear!” Jacques said as he laughed. “Also, I finished up that avatar you were working on last night. You’ve lost so much sleep working on it this month, so I couldn’t help but finish it up since I woke up a bit early.”

“Really? Thank you so much!” Louis exclaimed gratefully. “I can’t wait to test it out!”  

Through painstaking work, constant research into magic, and innumerable testing sessions, he had created a rudimentary design for a state-of-the-art magical knight. If everything went to plan, this new avatar would wield unimaginable power - elevating his status to nearly that of a demigod. He had designed the original test model for himself, but he hoped that it worked so that he could design one for his older brother as well.

“That’s fine and all, but make sure to keep track of real time.” Jacques advised. “You’ve got to go outside, get some exercise, and all that good stuff.”

Louis was a tiny bit annoyed. “Hey, you’re watching me do my math right now. And you of all people know I go outside whenever possible!”

Jacques just shrugged. “Well, that’s good, then. I just want my little brother to stay happy and healthy, after all.”

Louis gave him a begrudging smile. “Heh...thanks for that, I guess.”

Within due time, Louis finished off his work and took a look at the plan the new Admiral had suggested. After reading it for a bit, he frowned. “This is...well, kind of a jerk move, actually. Like, I’m almost certain it’d work, but…”

Jacques read it over again, his eyes drifting to the actual explanation for the plan's preliminary steps. _The people on this planet are incredibly selfless. Putting the safety of others above their own seems to be some kind of built-in policy, which is actually really neat. However, for our purposes, this could possibly serve as a weakness that would allow us to bait out and systematically capture their strongest warriors. After all, they’re highly liable to risk their lives to rescue a captured friend._

Louis sighed. “Well, this might suck a bit. But...I’m willing to go through with it. It’d be an interesting scenario, and it might make things a bit faster.”

“If you’re willing, then so am I.” Jacques replied. “I will message them back and prepare the Admirals for this plan.”

Louis gave him a small bow. “Thank you for all of your help.”

“Also, you’re drying the laundry today.”

“...Fine.”

 

Meanwhile on Territe, things had gotten a lot worse. What had once been a short series of skirmishes had now become a war of attrition. Those brothers had been confronted and destroyed numerous times, but they _just refused to stay down._ To make matters worse, they and their army seemed to be evolving with each time they were defeated - adapting to their techniques while growing stronger. And they seemed to have gained a number of abnormally powerful flunkies as well - advanced machines that called themselves “Admirals”. Apparently the brothers had lied when they said their homeworld had no other denizens besides themselves.

A month of fighting had taken its toll on the planet’s denizens - and not just in terms of lives. With battle planning being around every corner and actual battles being around every _other_ corner, the positivity that most Nanos seemed to carry around had been dulled. This applied especially to the more powerful fighters living near Electi Terram, who planned most of their moves and spent almost every waking moment thinking about the war.

Mitama now always seemed listless and deep in thought, determined to do whatever was necessary to wipe out the invaders. Her sister now rarely wore her trademark smile, only managing small grins whenever sufficiently happy. Xander had become obsessed with battle tactics, and Melody now almost exclusively sung songs of rainy melancholy. Sophia had been losing sleep while trying to map out all of their enemies’ next moves. Joseph and Anthony now spent their spare time pacing back and forth aimlessly, lost in thoughts, and Magnus had taken up a habit of willing countless hours into the wind, thinking about nothing in particular.

As for Ken and Yuki, the formerly spirited warriors were also feeling the frustration and pain that came with dealing with an unkillable opponent. They hadn’t _completely_ lost their spark, but it had been considerably dimmed.

Today was one of those days where the Radiant Swords felt at their worst. They had already fought and held off a mechanical army that had tried to invade Aurora, and they had just come home from a three-hour long strategy meeting at Aurora; as such, both of them were feeling especially gloomy and tired. Even as their kids rushed through the door to give them an enthusiastic greeting, they could barely meet their eyes.

“Welcome home!” Yu exclaimed, hugging his parents one by one. “We’re glad you’re back!

Ken was listless as he ruffled his son’s hair. “Yeah. Good to see you too.”

This was concerning to their kids. The two children had never seen their parents quite like this before, and it quite frankly scared them a little. So, the two of them were determined to cheer them up no matter what. Kana invited her mother to read a textbook with her, so that she could share her newest discoveries. As for Yu, he invited his father to play a game of chess with him.

The two kids tried to act as enthusiastically as possible, in hopes that their parents would brighten up a bit. And it seemed to work - Yuki smiled as her daughter cheerfully tried to explain the new concepts she had learned, and Ken even laughed a bit as his son pretended to flip the table from playful frustration.

Yu wasn’t the best chess player, and it wasn’t long before Ken called checkmate. As Yu sighed sheepishly and motioned for his father to finish the game, Ken stared at the board. Almost all of Yu’s pieces had been wiped off the board, and Ken’s bishop was now poised to take his king. However, just as he was about to take the king, he paused, his mind overwhelmed with an unwelcome thought.

“Eh? What are you doing?” Yu asked. “I’ve lost already!”

Ken’s face was cloudy. “A game of chess ends when the king is defeated. In order to get to the king, you have to fight past the pawns, then the other pieces. But...what’s happening right now isn’t chess. It’s like a chess game where all of the opponent’s pieces just keep coming back. And ours...well, they don’t.”

Yu and Kana stared at their father with wide, concerned eyes.

Ken sighed heavily. “I’m sorry for bringing this up again. I know you two are trying your best to cheer us up, and I’m thankful for that. But...this war is really taking its toll on the planet, and I just want it to end - but I don’t know _how_. Against an enemy like this, which doesn’t die and keeps getting stronger, I don’t know what to do. I feel hopeless, frustrated, even scared sometimes. It seems like we’re set up to lose this war - and I’m worried about what will become of this planet should we fail.”

The siblings were shaken. To them, the words “frustrated”, “hopeless”, and especially “scared” should never be used in a sentence with their parents’ names.

Yu lowered his head. “I know this might be a little selfish of me...but I really don’t like seeing you like this. I know it’s pretty bad out there, but I don’t want this war to turn you two into people that _aren’t_ the parents me and Kana know. So, even if you’re feeling down, can you please help us out by staying positive, like the two of you have always told us to do?”

Kana nodded imploringly. “Yeah. If you two of all people are scared of what’s out there, then we’re going to get scared too. So...please?”

Yuki stared at her kids, then let out a content sigh. “You don’t have to feel bad for telling us what you really feel. And as for what you said...I’m sorry, I really am. All of us are really tired of this war, and it’s getting hard to stay positive all the time like we used to. But if that’s what you really want, then me and Ken can do our best about it.”

Ken nodded. “Yeah...I suppose we’ve lost our touch a bit. But if it makes you happy, then I’m going to try and regain it - regardless of the situation.”

Yu and Kana breathed sighs of relief as they couldn’t help but shed a tear of happiness. The Radiant Swords held out their arms, and their kids leapt in for a group hug.

However, the Nebulous Angels weren’t done with their pick-me-ups yet - they soon volunteered to cook some curry for their dinner. As chefs-in-training, they were always up for an opportunity to hone their skills. Under the guidance of a renowned chef like their mother, their cooking skills were far beyond what their age would indicate - and as such, they succeeded in created a delicious meal for their family that night.

Eating together and laughing just like old times, in that moment the Nebulous Angels felt as if the outside war had never existed. They wished that this war would end faster, so that they could truly go back to those shining yesterdays - and if they themselves had to fight to help end it, then that’s what they wanted to do.

 

_The next day..._

In a fairly remote mountain settlement about fifty kilometers away from the Magnum village called Olympus, Louis and Jacques had sprung the first stage of their plan. Early in the morning, they had done a teleportation experiment using Louis’ new body, and it had worked like a charm. In front of the bewildered villagers’ eyes, a robotic invasion force had suddenly materialized along the outskirts of the village and immediately begun their assault.

This town was no Aurora, but it had a lot of skilled defenders - not to mention that Aurora had been delivering weapons to unarmed villages all over the world, and this was one of them. However, taken by complete surprise, the village found itself unable to handle the mechanical attack. As the villagers panicked and evacuated as fast as possible, the people who attempted to defend the town were met with merciless slaughter at the hands of the mechanical army and their two leaders.

The Admiral known as Rosa laughed happily as the bullets from the desperate defenders pinged off of her magical shielding. Admittedly, these weapons were quite capable of dealing serious damage to or even destroying her robotic body, but she had already made sure to wipe out the majority of her opponents within her initial sneak attack. Now, the defenders were rather lacking in firepower - meaning that as long as she didn’t intentionally take too much fire, she was all but invincible.

The victims of her attacks were strewn all over the burning rubble that she had created in her massacre - crumpled corpses with vicious puncture wounds all over their bodies. Soon, the surviving defenders would join them - she hadn’t been given any orders to spare them, and she didn’t plan on leaving a single one alive.

A man fired a rocket, which Rosa nimbly dodged. Her personally-designed avatar bore the appearance of a swift assassin, and it had the speed to match. With a lightning-quick motion, she tossed a magical knife into the man’s throat, severing his windpipe and killing him almost instantly. As the soldier crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood, several other soldiers opened fire with their assault rifles. She ducked underneath a destroyed food stall, before using a magical pulse to launch it at her adversaries. One man was bowled over, and the other was stunned for long enough for Rosa to dash at him and drive a second knife through his chest. The man gasped and sputtered for breath as the lights of his eyes went out.

Rosa threw the lifeless body to the side as she walked towards the second soldier. Judging from the fact that that he wasn’t moving but was still clearly alive, he had probably broken a couple bones, or even his spine. It was probably painful as hell - she supposed she could give him a swift end, at the least.

The man glared at the approaching Admiral as he futilely attempted to reach for the handgun strapped to his belt. An admirable display of determination, Rosa noted. But it wouldn’t earn him any of her mercy.

“Goodbye.” she said simply as she snapped her fingers. In an instant, the man’s head was removed from his shoulders by another knife.

Noticing a sudden noise, she perked up and saw two remaining soldiers aiming a piece of heavy artillery at her. Rosa groaned - how had she failed to notice that? She tensed and prepared to dodge - getting hit by that cannon was going to hurt.

Just as the cannon fired, there was a flash of silver as a scythe intercepted the shell, slicing it out of the air. The dark, cloaked figure that the scythe belonged to raised their weapon again, the wicked blade glowing bright red. With a single motion, they sent a crescent of searing energy hurtling towards the two soldiers. The beam messily sheared them in half, sending what was left of them splattering across the pavement.

The Admiral known as Giorno turned his head, crimson eyes burning from within his skull-like mask. “Rosa, you’re being careless. I understand that you really like fighting or something, and I get that you can let loose a bit since this is a different world. But you better make sure it doesn’t hinder your performance, or you’re going to end up disappointing Louis.”

The assassin’s visor couldn’t show emotion, but Giorno was imagining a look of annoyance behind that mask. “You didn’t have to help, you know. I was going to be fine.”

Giorno sighed as he contacted Louis through an earpiece. “Hey. The army has been successful. Most of the village has been wiped out.”

The voice of their leader crackled back. “Good. Did you not cause any unnecessary death and destruction, as I requested?”

The dark reaper bowed. “I did as you said. My companion, on the other hand…”

“Wait, you were supposed to do that?” Rosa asked incredulously. “Uh...my bad, sir. I got carried away.”

Louis sighed. “It’s fine, I suppose. Just...tone it down a bit, okay?”

Rosa bowed. “I understand.”

Giorno spoke up again. “You sure this plan is supposed to work? I’m pretty sure that Xavier knew what he was talking about, but nothing you described has happened yet.”

“Well, this village is within range of Olympus, which is where Sophia is taking care of defense in place of her father for the time being.” Louis explained to his servants. “If Xavier’s notes are correct, once she sees a situation like this, Sophia herself will be quick to intervene. Of course, only of there are still things to save - which, fortunately for us, there are.”

Rosa prepared to speak, but she was cut off by a sudden grenade that slammed into her chest, blasting her into a nearby building. She staggered to her feet to see a burly, bearded man wielding a launcher of sorts, standing some distance away from her with the barrel of his weapon smoking. Giorno, who had teleported out of the way, narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. “And who might you be?”

The man glared at them. “The name’s Samuel. And I’m just a man who’s doing what I feel like I must - which is driving off you two Admirals. I’ve already cut through more of your damn robots than I would have liked to, so it would be nice if you could just die, so that it wasn’t a complete waste of my time.”

Giorno glared at Rosa, her armor smoking and damaged from the portion of the blast that her hasty shield had failed to absorb. “This is what I mean when I say that you’re too careless.”

Rosa groaned. “Sorry.”

Giorno contacted Louis again. “You’re seeing this, right? Permission to engage?”

“Well, I suppose it’s only one man - and he may pose a danger to you.” Louis replied. “Permission granted.”

Giorno turned towards his new opponent, his skeletal visage cracking into a grin of anticipation. “I have been granted permission to end you. If it isn’t too much, I ask you to make this an interesting battle. I haven’t had one in a while.”

Samuel growled. “I suppose I can try to grant your request, then.”

With a click of a trigger, he unleashed a wave of flare-grenades that trailed brilliant orange flames as they tracked the reaper. Giorno launched himself into the air before repeatedly slashing his weapon, creating numerous silver beams that intercepted the missiles. As he landed back on solid ground, several more missiles shot towards him before splitting into numerous smaller rounds, peppering the ground with explosions. Back at wherever he lived, Giorno’s real body grit his teeth as his avatar registered damage.

Samuel grinned as he launched another volley of explosive ordnance, forcing Giorno to procure a magical shield to block it. Growling in frustration amidst the fiery explosions, Giorno channeled his magic and teleported next to the man. But to his surprise, Samuel had zero hesitation shoving the grenade launcher into the reaper’s chest, giving him a cheeky grin, and pulling the trigger as he leapt backwards. The resulting explosion launched both of them opposite directions, Giorno slamming into a ruined artillery piece and Samuel skidding to his feet before drawing his signature battleaxe.

However, Samuel secretly knew that this was a battle he was unlikely to win. He wasn’t a particularly skilled fighter, and a body of metal was liable to be stronger than his own. Still, he was perfectly prepared to go down defending his birthplace.

Giorno burst out of the rubble, eyes blazing with anger. Without so much as a warning, he lunged straight at Samuel. The man raised his axe and blocked the reaper’s scythe, their blades shedding glowing sparks as metal ground against metal. Samuel raised his axe again and swung into his enemy’s side, the heavy blade striking a translucent shield instead. Rolling aside to dodge the reaper’s ensuing overhead swing, he struck again, this strike shattering Giorno’s magic barrier.

Samuel prepared to strike again, but Giorno suddenly moved with impossible speed. His scythe sliced the head off of Samuel’s axe and sent him flying into a nearby building, eliciting a scream of pain. He was sure he had broken his spine.

In a flash of smoke, Giorno loomed over him. “You put up a decent fight, and I thank you for that. However, it seems that your magic was not developed, so your flesh and bones were even more inferior to my metal than usual.” He raised his scythe. “Do you have any final words?”

Even in the face of death, Samuel spat defiance. “You...you won’t win this war.”

“If you say so.” Giorno told him. “Farewell.”

And with that, he vertically bisected the man kneeling before him. It was exactly as messy as it sounds.

The halves of what used to be Samuel crumpled to the ground, staining the pavement a brilliant scarlet. As blood dripped from Giorno’s scythe, Rosa sidled up to him. “Huh. He didn’t put up much of a fight, did he?”

Giorno sighed. “He was far stronger than a normal Nano, considering he didn’t use magic. I believe at least some respect is due here.”

Rosa just shrugged. “Well, that’s taken care of. Now when is that Sophia person going to show up? We’ve caused a lot of damage here.”

“Patience.” Giorno advised. “I have faith in Louis’ plan. Besides, remember that we’re not trying to kill her, so please control yourself.”

“Fine.” Rosa groaned. “But I’m still itching for a fight-”

She was cut off when a fierce beam of blue energy struck her shoulder and exploded, shearing a chunk of her armor off and knocking her to the ground. As the assassin groaned again and unsteadily got to her feet, she saw a figure wearing a silver robe standing before them. The pronged blade in her hand transformed back into a standard-looking sword and stopped glowing as she slowly stepped forward. Silver hair framed a pair of brilliant blue eyes that bored into the Admirals as she tilted her head.

“Ah.” Sophia mused. “Were you looking for me?”

 

The Admirals weren’t ones to waste time, immediately going straight for Sophia as they were directed. Louis had told them not to kill her, only to exhaust her as much as possible so that the rest of the plan could come to fruition. Still, the Admirals were riled up for a fight, so they had attacked her with all their strength. She didn’t _look_ very strong, at least...

Unfortunately for them, Sophia was far tougher than she let on. Being the daughter of the most powerful mage to exist, and having honed her abilities for countless years, her magic was something to be feared. Even her swordsmanship, which was admittedly clumsy and slow, still matched or outstripped that of the Admirals.

Rosa skidded back from the last burst of magical lightning, her armor punctured and smoldering in various locations. With a shout, she hurled several waves of magical knives at her opponent, only for them to strike an invisible barrier and fall to the ground like leaves. Sophia raised her sword and swung, firing a searing beam of light that forced Rosa to roll out of the way. Just as she did, however, Sophia predicted the move and clicked a button on her sword, transforming it back into its two-pronged form. Without further ado, she unleashed a furious blast from her rail cannon, which struck the shocked assassin squarely in the chest and all but blasted a hole through her armor. She collapsed in a smoking heap, only to struggle to her feet mere seconds later. “I...I can still fight!”

“Good to hear, otherwise I’d be quite disappointed.” Giorno groaned, blocking the incoming magical fusillade with his scythe. He unleashed an arcane spike of his own, which was countered simply by Sophia raising her hand and shattering it in midair. Realizing magic was unlikely to work, Giorno swung his scythe in an arc, firing off innumerable glowing orange barbs of power that exploded and scattered smoke around the area. As Sophia’s eyes glowed in the fog, searching for her enemies, Giorno activated his infrared sight, spotting his confused opponent. In a puff of smoke, he teleported behind her and raised his scythe to cut her in two.

He smirked. “Nothing personal, kid-”

His gloating was abruptly cut off by a magically-charged blade swinging directly into his jaw, sending him flying into what used to be an ice cream stand. The impact dented the metal and sent the remnants of the ice cream splattering all over his slashed mask. From out of the smoke, Sophia casually walked out, her blade glowing.

Rosa stared in disbelief. “Did you actually just say-”

“Shut up.” Giorno growled as he wiped the ice cream off his mask. “How the hell did she do that…”

“For your information, I taught your bosses everything they know about magic.” Sophia told them calmly. “It would be unwise to assume that I don’t know how to detect your teleportation. For how much Louis seems to value knowing about one’s foe before attacking them, I am surprised he didn’t teach you more about me.”

“Urgh...shut up!” Giorno roared, leaping back into action as he charged his scythe with a murderous crimson aura. Rosa lunged as well, a tide of blades following in her wake. Sophia raised her shield again before meeting Giorno’s scythe with her own sword. Raising her other hand, she fired off a magical pulse that dissolved the magical knives flying at her, before matching Giorno’s frenzied slashes with her own calculated ones. Noting that her barrier was sustaining some damage, she sneakily disabled it just as Giorno’s scythe was about to strike it, causing the reaper to overcommit to his attack and embed the blade in the ground. Before he could recover, Sophia’s heavy blade sliced off his weapon arm at the elbow, before she rammed the blade into his chest and unloaded a point-blank blast from its rail cannon. The stunned reaper flew backwards and skidded across the pavement as Rosa leapt over him, knives in hand. Nimbly avoiding all of Sophia’s ranged blasts, she got up close and raised her blades, only for Sophia to move with speed far faster than her frail appearance let on. Her blade dug into Rosa’s waist and nearly sheared her in half right there. The Admiral, not giving up just yet, raised a blade and attempted to plunge it into Sophia’s head, only for the mage to create a small barrier that easily cancelled the attack. The shocked assassin backed up as Sophia lowered her blade and lunged, piercing straight through her chest and sending her ruined body flying into Giorno’s.

Giorno tried to struggle to his feet. “Augh...Louis...our apologies. We...have failed.”

Louis’ voice responded immediately. “Do not worry. It was my fault for neglecting to warn you about her power. Besides, some new discoveries me and my brother just made have prompted us to change the plan. It’s still going to work.”

The two Admirals just nodded as Sophia summoned an enormous fireball and hurled it at them, blasting the two machines into molten slag. As the flames cleared, she bowed. “Rest in pieces.”

Sophia frowned. “That...sounded way better in my head.”

 

Sophia had barely taken twenty strides before a flash of crimson light forced her to cover her eyes. When the light vanished, none other than Louis himself stood before her, flanked by a number of his Admirals. The black knight was incapable of showing real emotion, but Sophia could still see a confident look in his eyes.

“Ah, so you’ve showed up in person.” Sophia said idly, as if the dark figure looming over her was just another friend she was meeting in town. “The fact that the whole lot of you have come here just for me seems to indicate something.”

Louis nodded. “I’m a cautious person. After all, you _were_ my teacher.”

The mage sighed. “Indeed I was. And when I look at you, I am sometimes able to see past the conqueror you’ve become - and instead, I see the eager student who used to learn magic under my guidance, alongside your brother. If it is possible, I would like to ask if you could return to that person I once thought knew.”

An Admiral resembling a butler sneered at her. “Silence. Our leader does not require to listen to such petty things, especially from the likes of you.”

“Er...that’s right.” Louis said, although his voice wavered a bit. “I’ve gone too far down this road, and I still feel like I must see where this ends.”

“It’s not too late.” Sophia offered. “I have faith in my people. If you stop now, there’s still a chance that they would forgive you.”

“Apologies, Sophia.” Louis told her. “But I can’t accept that. I must capture you.”

Sophia sighed again. “How depressing.”

She stared at the knight, her eyes glowing as she assessed her opponent. His body seemed to have changed in appearance since the last time they had met, and this time his magical power seemed to have increased exponentially. The dark conqueror radiated so much raw magical power that Sophia didn’t actually have a lot of confidence that she could beat him alone - and that wasn’t even counting the squad of Admirals behind him. She shrugged and raised her sword. “I can sense your power. You have gotten far stronger since you last showed your face - your magic seems to even surpass my own. Technology sure is frightening sometimes.”

Louis raised his gauntlet. “I sincerely thank you for everything you taught me and my big brother. But it seems that the student has now surpassed the master.”

With a wave of his hand, he sent a white-hot tsunami of fire scorching towards his target. Sophia raised a barrier and blocked it as the flames incinerated almost every loose object in the vicinity and practically liquefied parts of the pavement. She had felt the strength of the attack when she had blocked it, and what little confidence she had in her victory quickly dwindled away.

Louis struck again, this time unleashing a searing beam of light that sliced entire buildings in half as Sophia leapt about to dodge it. She raised her weapon and fired a blast from her rail cannon, only for the crackling beam to bounce harmlessly off of Louis’ magic shield. She swung again, firing off a wave of flares, but they didn’t even dent the barrier.

The onyx knight ran at her and fired off a blazing comet of heat, which struck Sophia’s barrier and very nearly cracked it on the spot. The mage skidded backwards and used magic to launch herself straight at Louis. She stopped a meter in front of him and swung her sword at his helmet, but she found the strike blocked by an invisible force. The attack had succeeded in scratching Louis’ barrier, but had otherwise done no damage.

Louis reared back and unloaded a magically-charged punch, instantly shattering Sophia’s weakened barrier and sending her flying across the sizzling pavement. As she skidded to a stop, she checked her magical reserves and found that she could still fight on - but she had gotten the message. This wasn’t a foe she could take down by herself, and she had long since detected the strong magical field surrounding them that would stop her if she tried to teleport out of there. So, she was better off just saving her energy. After all, Louis had said “capture”, not “kill”. There was still a chance for her.

Louis advanced on the mage, only to stop in surprise as Sophia sheathed her blade. The mage put her hands in the air. “You know what, I give up. You’ve got me.”

The black knight was stunned at this turn of events, but decided to roll with it anyways. “Uh...okay. Admirals, use those handcuffs my brother just designed. They should nullify magic and make it so that she can’t escape. Then take her away just as planned. No unnecessary violence, please.”

The Admirals did as he said. Sophia was tranquil and unmoving, even as she felt the cold feeling of her magic being forcefully suppressed. There was a flash of light, and Giorno and Rosa - the two Admirals that she had just slain - appeared again.

“YOU!” Rosa snarled, marching towards the restrained Sophia with the intention of burying one of her knives as deep into her flesh as possible. “I ought to-”

“Stop.” Louis said firmly, blocking her passage with a single hand. “We’ve captured her. There is no need for anything else. Stand down.”

Rosa begrudgingly restrained herself as the Admirals led the captured mage down the road. The butler-like Admiral bowed to his leader. “I believe that was a job well done, sir.”

“Joe, there’s really no need to call me sir.” Louis told him. “And yes, this was a success. I thank all of you for your work.”

Joe was about to respond, but he noticed something. “What...is that?”

Louis looked around to see what he was pointing at, only to notice that Joe was staring at his wrist. Raising it to his face, Louis realized that his wrist indeed had something on it. A silver wristwatch, shaped like a five-pointed star.

“Ah…” Louis said slowly, opting to tell the truth. “This was a welcome gift that was given to me and my brother by two very remarkable individuals on this planet.”

Joe stared at it with a curious mixture of admiration and contempt. “From what I have observed in numerous stories and the like, maintaining a bond with their enemy is a poor sign for a villain’s success. These beings are our enemies now, and neglecting to treat them as such will make one weak. Even if they were once your friends...I can’t help but recommend that you cut your ties with them.”

Louis hesitated. Then, after a minute, he sighed. “I...know what you’re saying. I know what I should do.”

He took off the watch, taking one last moment to admire its design. Then, he tossed it to the ground and snapped his fingers, watching as it was engulfed in flames.

Joe looked upon the fire with uncaring eyes, as if he was unsure how to feel about it. As he turned around to leave with the other Admirals, Louis watched the image of the burning watch fade away as he reached into his remote storage. He felt a familiar shape there and sighed in relief, as he took his leave as well.

 

It didn’t take long for everyone to notice Sophia’s disappearance. For her age, she was already a brilliant strategist that was of a similar caliber to trained commanders like Joseph. So when she failed to show up to the next strategy meeting, everyone immediately knew something was up - and by cross-checking with a number of sources, they realized what had happened. The fact that a stray Admiral literally told them what had happened only made it more believable.

Magnus was livid at his daughter’s kidnapping. He was tempted to unleash his full magical potential on that blasted fort where those villains resided, but with their newly-created magical shielding that blast would likely accomplish little more than permanently scarring the landscape. So for now, he was forced to simply keep planning and hope that he figured out a way to save her.

Hibiki, on the other hand, lacked the logical reasoning of the elderly sorcerer. To the young mage, her friend was in danger - therefore, she needed to go save her.

The Galante siblings had intercepted her at the gates of the town and tried to stop her, but she had managed to talk them into letting her through. Good thing her sister didn’t know about this, because Mitama would have been all over her.

Hibiki had a pretty good memory, so she was able to easily teleport near the enemy base. She couldn’t teleport inside - the magical field around the castle seemed to block teleportation. After observing the place from a distance, it seemed that even the enemy’s own soldiers had to teleport to designated zones.

From there, it was simply a matter of using cloaking magic and sneaking through the bright, silver corridors of the castle-turned-military-base. Most of the machines were AI-controlled, and it seemed that the few Admirals that she passed by were incapable of seeing through the spell she had cast.

Within the hour, she had tracked down the massive hall where the golden gladiator Jacques was currently lazing around, trying to assemble some kind of bed. Why he needed one, Hibiki had no idea - but she supposed even an conqueror needed a good sleep. She wanted to go for peaceful negotiations first and mass destruction only when necessary, so she decided to simply pay him a visit.

Jacques had been trying to practice his mechanical body’s fine motor skills by assembling a bed without his magic, but it wasn’t going so well for him. He was about to throw the entire bed into the wall out of frustration when he heard an ethereal shimmering sound. Turning around, he came face-to-face with Hibiki, who wasted no time with her greetings. “Hi!”

The gilded warrior stumbled backwards in alarm, nearly breaking the bed he had been working on so painstakingly. “You? How did you get in here? And why are you here?”

Hibiki’s silver-blue eyes gleamed with pale light as she bowed to him. “Eh, it wasn’t too hard. As for why I’m here, I’m here to rescue my friend. I believe you have her?”

Jacques wasn’t one to tell lies, so he slowly nodded. “Yes. She’s in another room, though. I actually forgot _where_ she is.”

Hibiki tried for a friendly smile. “Well, as I said, I’m here to rescue her. And if I could do it peacefully, that would be really nice. If needed, I am perfectly willing to give myself in, if it assures her safety.”

Jacques seemed to realize where she was coming from. “Hibiki, is it? Well, I can’t assure you that this will pertain until later, but as of now we have no reason to harm you. But we can’t give up Sophia just yet. She’s essential to the plan my brother has put into motion - although how much of it was actually his idea is up in the air.”

“Ah.” Hibiki muttered disappointedly. “I do suppose that I’ll have to do this a different way, then. How unfortunate.”

Jacques wasn’t sure exactly what “a different way” entailed, but he was sure that he and his brother could handle it. However, something that he noticed was that Hibiki seemed to want to say something else. “Hey, I can tell you want to ask me something else. Come on, out with it.”

Hibiki tilted her head. “You’re fairly good at reading faces. Well, I was hoping that I could try to convince you to stop all of this needless strife.”

Jacques nodded. “We may not listen to you, but you are welcome to try. You must have a reason for wanting to do this.”

“Exactly. That reason is that I believe in both of you.”

Now it was the gilded warrior’s turn to tilt his head. “What?”

“I mean what I say.” Hibiki continued earnestly. “I don’t believe that a single evil being exists. Every being that exists has good in them, and that’s something I can say with complete confidence. That includes you two. That means that even if you act like...well, the way you’re acting now, you’re still good people inside. And I’m sure that if you try, you can stop going down this path and go on a better one.”

Jacques looked a bit stunned, but Hibiki wasn’t done. “Besides, I’m certain there’s a reason you two are doing this. Come on, out with it.”

The golden gladiator decided to open up a bit. “Well...I suppose it’s just because my brother really wants to live out an experience in a fantasy world. And admittedly, I only enjoyed fantasy stories when they had a conflict driving them - and I guess that my brother just wanted to take the steps to create one of his own. As for me...well, I just want to see my little brother happy. So, I go along with what he says.”

Hibiki nodded as it to empathize with him. “See, you’re not actually that bad! Your brother seems to just be curious. And as for you, I can understand a bit of how you feel. My older sister also does everything in her power to make me happy, after all. In return, my goal is to bring happiness back to her, and to everyone.”

Jacques seemed to be listening intently as Hibiki went on. “But if my goal is to make everyone happy, then I must ask you to halt this war so that this entire world may be happy once more. I know you are capable of doing that, and I’m sure that you two could find some other things to do on our world that would satisfy your curiosity better than conflict. If you do this, I am more than willing to forgive you for everything you’ve done. Then I can be your friend, just like I was before this war started!”

Louis chose this moment to walk into the room. “Jacques, take a break. You’ve been working on that bed for god knows...how…long…”

He trailed off as he saw the young Nano standing before his brother.

Then he panicked. “What? How are you...what are you doing here?”

Hibiki bowed to him. “Ah, I was just here to talk with your brother, but since you’ve showed up I suppose I can tell you what I’ve been thinking too.”

Louis seemed to process this before sighing. “Well, it appears that you’ve made a bit of a mistake, since your capture is a part of our plans. Nonetheless, I’m willing to hear you out. Keep going.”

Hibiki ignored the first comment and kept talking, pouring her optimistic beliefs out for the brothers to see. And as they watched, the brothers couldn’t help but feel a little mesmerized. This girl’s ideals were absolutely pure, but she still spoke about them with an unrivaled conviction. Did she really believe in the two of them that much?

“So, if it isn’t too much, I beg of you to stop your conquest - for the good of everyone living on this planet.” Hibiki finished. “I have total confidence that you have it in you. And if you do, I will welcome you back into our world with open arms - and I’m sure everyone else will, too.”

Silence from the two brothers.

Hibiki tilted her head. “Please?”

Louis and Jacques had been quite shaken by this speech. There was something about the person trying to convince you to stop something truly believing that you were capable of stopping, rather than going on a tirade about how bad your choices were. And Hibiki had made it seem so easy - easier than it actually was, which was still quite easy. And while Louis was willing to admit that he had a bit of trouble seeing these beings as actual people like him and his brother, Hibiki had made it clear about how much she and the rest of this world would appreciate the decision, even if it meant the brothers had to give up on shaping their own fantasy story.

If the right decision had been made at that moment in time, everything could have ended a lot faster. However, it turned out that the Admirals had gotten suspicious of the brothers’ lengthy absence. Once they had found out the reason for said absence, the robotic commanders had decided to take action.

Hibiki was still awaiting an answer when the door to the room burst open, revealing a dozen Admirals with weapons at the ready. One of them stepped forward. “You! I don’t know how you got in here, but I don’t care. I cannot forgive myself for allowing the likes of you to get so close to our leaders, but that is for later. Now you will submit to us peacefully, or be erased!”

“Huh? Hey!” Hibiki sputtered in disbelief. “I was just talking!”

Jacques nodded. “Everyone, calm down. Hibiki here wasn’t trying to attack us. She just wanted to chat with us and do some negotiating.”

The butler-like Admiral Joe pointed at her accusingly. “You were trying to sway them with your so-called ideals, weren’t you? You’re all the same!”

A vaguely humanoid blob of black liquid spoke up in a gurgling baritone. “That is unacceptable. Our determined leaders will not be convinced to give up so easily. For this futile attempt, we will make you pay. Admirals, surround and capture her!”

“Xavier, that is not required-” Jacques began.

The Admirals sprung into action.

 

The fight had only lasted for about five minutes, and it had already ground to a stalemate. The Admirals had the advantage in numbers, but all of them were still very wary of the girl that stood before them - they _had_ seen how much power she had. Yet they were sure that she couldn’t unleash another display of destructive power in the room that they were in, otherwise she would end up blowing herself up as well. The Admirals were still on guard, however - but why was she not attacking?

“Please, just stop fighting!” Hibiki pleaded as she avoided and blocked all of the attacks being sent her way. She was unable to use her signature long-ranged annihilation magic due to the enclosed space, so she had to rely on her admittedly-weaker standard magic. Was this all part of their plan? She had no idea.

The Admirals all had the same thoughts running through their mind: _She’s holding back. She has to be._ She wasn’t even attacking back, focusing on purely defending and only occasionally using immobilizing magic. Perhaps she really didn’t want a fight...but the Admirals had a job.

“If you want even the smallest chance of escaping here, then fight back!” Joe yelled, firing several stun rounds from his handgun. “What are you accomplishing by just stalling like this?”

“Just...stop!” Hibiki shouted, freezing the bullets with magic. “I don’t really want to fight you guys. I just wanted to talk with your leaders! Is that so bad?”

“You’re just trying to ward off this fight, instead of ending it.” Xavier growled. “We have studied you for some time, child. And while your magical prowess is a force to be reckoned with, the fact still remains that against enemies that aren’t mindless machines, you are far too hesitant to get your hands dirty. Your greatest weakness is your unending kindness.”

That, as the Admirals found out, was one of the few surefire ways to get Hibiki riled up. Her eyes began flickering with an unstable, pale light. “What...did you say? My kindness...is NOT a weakness! I value kindness above all else, and it brings joy to everyone I meet - exactly what I want!  And if I ever get into a fight, that same kindness is what helps defuse them before anyone gets hurt too badly! All it does is help others - and that’s enough to satisfy me! How is that a weakness?”

Xavier shook his head. “You would not survive in our world. Not for a second. But I’m willing to let the subject slide. But if you have any plans on leaving here alive, I would recommend that you start fighting properly.”

Joe turned to him incredulously. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to make our job harder?”

“There is no satisfaction in an effortless job.” Xavier told him.

Joe grumbled but otherwise shut up.

Hibiki sighed heavily as she raised her wand, which began crackling with tendrils of pale-blue light. “...Okay. In case you mind...I’m sorry for this.”

With a simple pointing of her wand, Hibiki unleashed a concentrated blast of flame at the Admirals, instantly incinerating the weaker ones while the smarter ones jumped for cover. It was as if she had cast a weaker one of her nuclear-grade destructive spells and directed the entire explosion into a conical burst.

The fight dissolved into complete chaos. Hibiki radiated with barely-restrained power as she unleashed bursts of destruction in every direction, laying waste to the room they were in along with her attackers. While her attacks weren’t extremely frequent - she did have to defend, after all - they were destructive enough that each blast was usually enough to turn two or three machines into slag. All this while, she was slowly backing up, with the intent of getting out of the room and running.

“Damn it.” Xavier growled as the incoming reinforcements were disintegrated. His amorphous body was hit by a stray bolt of power and blasted apart, only to reform within seconds. He wasn’t one to take chances, so he had optimized his avatar to be able to recover from almost anything.

The reaper Giorno skidded to a stop beside him, his arm half-melted. “What now? That kid’s blowing up everything, and getting close to her is suicide. At this rate, she’s going to get away.”

Joe backed up while firing at the unstable powerhouse in the center of the room, and noticed that Louis and Jacques had just stood there in the backline. All of the magic had somehow missed them, and they were just staring.

“We’re getting destroyed!” he yelled. “Help us, please!”

Louis had been a bit torn for the last couple of minutes - Hibiki’s speech seemed to have had a profound effect on him. Yet as he stared upon the expectant, almost pleading gazes of his Admirals, who were directly requesting for his help, the desire to help his fellow humans exceeded that of his one to help Hibiki. Begrudgingly, he teleported in front of Hibiki to block her escape route, turned his gauntlet on the silver-haired child and clenched his fist, willing his magic to detonate a myriad of explosions.

Thousands of kilometers away, his heart barely had time to clench at the heartbreaking look Hibiki gave him as cataclysmic explosions erupted from the floor, sending the entire hall up in a brilliant blaze of raging flames. The Admirals were blown away by the sheer power of the attack while Jacques raised a hasty shield. After the inferno subsided, most of the room’s metal was now glowing a superheated orange, steam lingered in the air from the evaporated moisture, and Jacques’ work-in-progress bed had been completely erased.

In the midst of the carnage, Hibiki staggered and panted heavily, her barely-intact magical barrier flickering unsteadily around her. “Gah...it seems that I’ve failed to convince you. But if my sister finds out I was captured then...then…”

Her eyes blazed again. “I...I will escape!”

As she raised her wand, she couldn’t help but hesitate a bit. Louis noticed this and encouraged her. “I am all that stands between you and escape. Give your all.”

Hibiki realized that she couldn’t teleport out, so she pointed her wand at the black knight. Letting out a determined cry, she channeled the rest of her magical energy into an enormous beam of blue radiance. Louis raised his gauntlet and countered with his own beam of scarlet light, meeting the attack in a spectacular blast of crackling energy as the two beams struggled to overcome one another.

Yet Hibiki’s magic was rather uncontrolled, and Louis’ new avatar had been meticulously designed to cover all aspects of magical combat - including controlled output. And since said avatar possessed a similar power level to the mage - who had already used a lot of her power to begin with - it didn’t take too long for the red beam to override the opposing one and snuff it out.

As Louis halted his beam before it could blast Hibiki into ashes, the girl collapsed on her knees, panting. Her form flickered as if her body was fading away. Louis looked around and realized a bit late that their beam-of-war had pretty much obliterated the entirety of the room. All of the Admirals and even his own brother seemed to have evacuated.

But he quickly took the opportunity to kneel before his panting opponent. “Hey...are you okay?”

Hibiki coughed, her eyes drained of light but her form regaining its stability. “...Yeah. Thank you for asking.”

Louis sighed. “Good. However, for the sake of my plans, I must still capture you. I hope you can forgive me, but if you cannot that is fine.”

Even when tired and battered, Hibiki managed a small smile. “I...can’t fight back. I wish I could say sorry to everyone, but what’s done is done. Just...please remember what I said. You can still become a good person if you just try - I have faith in that. And I will always be ready to forgive you, if you just ask.”

With that, Hibiki passed out. Louis promptly picked up her limp body in his arms and checked her vitals - still stable. Hibiki looked like a young child in the arms of the towering knight, but Louis remembered that she was probably quite a bit older than him. This species sure aged interestingly.

Within due time, he entrusted his Admirals with the unconscious mage and ordered them to move her to a safe location. The plan was progressing, and while he was still a little conflicted about it, he swallowed his emotions. He was an evil leader now, and he needed to embrace that. After all...he had followers to impress.

 

_One day later..._

Melody and Xander had been having a bad day. First of all, Hibiki hadn’t returned from her rescue mission yet. Then, a deadly-serious Mitama had found them and forcefully interrogated them until they finally spilled about what Hibiki had done.

They hated telling Mitama something that would cause her so much pain, and they didn’t want to break the promise they had made to Hibiki. But Mitama had been in such a state of tranquil fury that it had terrified the two of them. She had actually looked like she would pull out her sword and eviscerate them both at any moment.

Needless to say, Mitama was _not_ happy. Mere hours after receiving the news, she had packed a bit and stormed out of the village, fully intent on rescuing her sister. While she didn’t know the enemy base as well as Hibiki, she knew the surrounding area well enough to teleport _close_ to the castle, at least. But she was burning with a rare emotion - anger - and upon seeing a small army of robotic soldiers massing near the fort, she decided to vent her frustrations and fear a bit.

Back on Earth, Louis had barely finished the bagel he had made for breakfast when he received an urgent notice from one of his friends, Gavin. Apparently, all by her lonesome, Mitama had thoroughly obliterated their robotic attack force and was now cutting a burning swath through their defenses, advancing towards the castle at an alarming rate. It was a good thing that all of their forces were mechanical, otherwise the fields would likely have been soaked in blood. Knowing how much Hibiki mattered to Mitama, Louis was certain that she would have no reservations about destroying anyone that got in between them.

Just as he took command of his avatar and burst into the newly-repaired hall where Jacques was painstakingly trying to reconstruct the bed from before, the door to the hall was blasted off its hinges, the flying debris demolishing the bed a second time. In the smoldering doorway, Mitama marched out, covered in ashes and soot from her rampage. Her blade was alight with furious energy, but her eyes were still as dull as ever - expressing a silent anger hot enough to melt tungsten.

“Where is my sister?” Mitama asked them in a low voice.

Jacques stared at the wreckage of his bed as Louis shrugged. “Not here.”

“You’ve got some nerve, capturing her friend to lure her out.” Mitama growled. “You’ve made me feel something that I haven’t felt in a long time - anger. But as much as I would like to destroy you first and ask questions later, the truth remains that my sister believed in both of you ever since the beginning. So, I’m willing to give you another chance. For the good of everyone on this planet - and your own - I request that you honor her words, and halt this conquest at once.”

Louis hesitated. Then he remembered that he had a role that he was committed to and remembered that he wasn’t supposed to show indecisiveness - even if none of his underlings were watching him. With this in mind, he simply shook his head.

“How unfortunate...” Mitama said slowly, her magical aura flickering to life around her. “Well, against people like yourselves, I have no reason to hold back. Prepare yourselves.”

In a flash of silver, she lunged at Louis. The knight barely blocked the strike with his forearm, the blade crackling as it struck the layer of magical shielding around his body. Mitama jumped onto a nearby wall and lunged from another direction, prompting Louis to emit a magical pulse to ward her off. As she skidded to a stop, Louis tried to remember his notes on this particular fighter. Mitama was an incredibly strong mixed swordfighter - despite his immense power, he still had to be careful around her.

As Louis materialized his glowing sword, Mitama swung in an arc, firing several beams that struck Louis’ barrier and exploded. Louis swept away the smoke with a pulse of magic, only for Mitama to take the opportunity to dash up to him and strike his arm with a fierce slash. Despite his magical shielding nullifying most of her magic, Louis could still tell that the physical parts of Mitama’s strikes were causing a lot of damage to his shield. And if his shield dropped, it wouldn’t take long for someone of Mitama’s power to tear his armor apart.

He parried the next couple of attacks with his glowing blade, but Mitama was a lot faster, striking his shielding with numerous slashes before he could retaliate. Growling, Louis clenched his fist, causing countless tendrils of lightning to erupt from around them. With a hand motion, he directed all of the tendrils to lash out at Mitama, who deflected them with hexagonal barriers. While this was happening, though, Louis reared back and punched the air, emitting a shockwave that blew her backwards.

Jacques leapt into action, forming his own magical lance as he took to the air. Soaring above the fight, he snapped his fingers and sent countless lances of golden light streaking towards his enemy. Mitama noticed this and slashed them out of the air with incredible speed, before raising her sword and unleashing a wave of violet missiles that tracked the flying warrior. Jacques swerved and dodged to avoid them, firing missiles of his own in retaliation.

Noticing Louis attempting to run in for an attack, Mitama whipped around and blocked the incoming sword strike. While Louis was recovering, she entered an offensive stance and rammed her sword straight into Louis’ stomach region. The tip of the magical blade met his barrier, spraying sparks everywhere as the two forces fought to overpower each other. Groaning, Louis grabbed Mitama’s sword with his metallic hands and yanked it out of her grasp, sending it clattering across the floor.

While Louis examined his hands for any damage, Mitama wasted no time using her magic to retrieve her sword, immediately resuming her attack. Blade burning with raw, unfiltered power, she launched a furious barrage of attacks from all directions. Under such a strong physical assault, Louis could only defend for so long as his barrier cracked and finally shattered. As Louis stepped back in alarm, Mitama tensed and lunged at him to land the killing blow - only to be stopped by a glowing spear.

Mitama looked to her left in disbelief as Jacques stood firm, his spear standing between Mitama’s sword and Louis’ head. Mitama grit her teeth and struck the spear hard enough to shatter it into glowing shards, before lunging again. However, this time her sword found itself stopped by a pair of golden hands as Jacques caught the blade in a bare-handed block. The magically-charged metal sparked as Jacques strained to hold it back, allowing Louis to back out of the situation.

“...Why?” Mitama breathed.

Secretly, Jacques wanted to preserve this particular body, but his primary motive was still the same. “Because I want to defend my younger sibling. It is my responsibility as Louis’ older brother to help and protect him. You of all people should understand that.”

Mitama was stunned, but begrudgingly conceded the point as she overpowered Jacques and struck him with a fierce blow to his shoulder, sending him crumpling to the floor. She raised her blade to finish him, only for Louis to recreate his sword and engage her in a blade lock. The black knight’s eyes were filled with an emotion that Mitama had seen many times before - in her sister’s eyes. It was a desire to repay one’s older sibling for something they had done.

Mitama fell back as Louis raised his hand in the air. With a downwards swinging motion, he send a huge chunk of the ceiling crashing down on his enemy. Raising his hand and clenching his fist, a magical circle formed around the area just as Mitama burst out of the rubble. Louis’ gauntlet crystal glowed a bright orange as he manipulated the rubble in the area to coalesce around her, taking the dazed swordfighter off guard. She strained against the rocks, but Louis kept applying more pressure until the sheer physical force shattered her barrier. Quickly dropping the rocks as to not crush Mitama, Louis fired a concussive blast of energy from his gauntlet that struck the weakened swordfighter in the head. Mitama cried out in pain and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Jacques unsteadily got up, smoke pouring from the wound that Mitama had inflicted. As Louis told him to get that fixed up, he put magic-nullifying bindings on the fallen warrior as he slung her body over his shoulder. That was a lot harder than he expected, but everything was going to plan. Unless something changed, there were only two more to go.

 

_Two days later…_

Yu and Kana Hoshizora turned in their sleep as they heard the door to their room open. As they squirmed in discomfort, a warm hand ruffled their hair as they heard their mother’s voice speak to them. “Yu, Kana, we’re going on a bit of a mission today. We might not be back that soon. We might not even be back today. But I’m sure you two will be fine by yourselves - you’re smart kids. Anyways, I just wanted to say goodbye before we left. Stay safe for us, okay?”

Yu murmured in his stupor. “Yeah...thank you.”

Kana turned over and mumbled. “Good...luck...out there.”

Then the two of them muttered in unison before falling asleep again. “Love...you…”

At the doorway, Ken smiled at the sight. But within the next couple of minutes, the two of them set off to go rescue their captured friends. This foe had managed to defeat all of their friends, but the two of them had each other for support. If they tried hard enough and were careful enough, they couldn’t lose.

...Right?

 

Yuki panted heavily and leapt back as numerous lasers carved fissures into the ground around her. Next to her, Ken skidded to a stop, his blade glowing with light. Standing in front of them amidst the flames, the onyx knight Louis and the gilded warrior Jacques loomed over them, gauntlets blazing with light.

The two of them didn’t know the castle well, so they had been forced to take alternative routes to infiltrate the enemy base. Through a combination of luck, care, and magic, the two of them had managed to get in and sneak around unnoticed for a couple of hours. At Ken’s request, Yuki had drawn out a floor plan of the fortress so they didn’t get lost. But even as they moved about, there was still no sign of their captured friends.

And luck didn’t favor them forever. They had apparently been watched, because they had entered a room with a bunch of teleporters in it - only to find Louis and Jacques waiting for them. They had since been driven out of the room and were now locked in a violent brawl in the metallic halls of the fortress.

Louis advanced on the two heroes, several vivid green spheres of light trailing behind him. As he pointed around, the spheres followed his directions, emitting blisteringly powerful beams of energy that sliced through the metal walls like butter in their attempts to track the Radiant Swords. Ken wasn’t sure why he was causing so much damage to his own base, but an entity possessing so much power could probably repair it in due time.

As the dark knight turned around a corner, Ken leapt out from behind it to attack, his sword striking at the knight’s arm but finding itself blocked by a magical shield. As Ken strained to push forward, Louis grabbed Ken’s blade with both hands and slowly forced it backwards with his mechanically-augmented strength. Ken pulled back and lunged again, his blade driving a crack into Louis’ barrier but otherwise causing no damage. He ducked as Louis grabbed at his head, the missed attack creating a dent in the wall behind him.

Meanwhile, Yuki hastily sketched some finishing touches on her map before teleporting it back to their house. It was evident that their chances of escape were gradually dimming - even if they defeated the brothers, they were stranded deep in enemy territory. But with this, the people at Electi Terram would still get some information out of their mission - information that might help them defeat the enemy. As for themselves...it was too late to teleport out. She could feel that some kind of magical binding had been cast on the two of them specifically.

She had just finished that when Jacques flew from around the corner and lunged, his spear in hand. Yuki blocked the strike with her katana before unleashing a burst of magical spikes, which Jacques handily deflected using his gauntlet’s magic. Heating her blade, Yuki lunged during the golden gladiator’s downtime, tearing a molten gash in one of his wings. Jacques backed up in surprise and retaliated with a spear swing of his own, but that was a point for the Light of Courage. Stopping Jacques from flying was the first thing they needed to do if they wanted even the smallest chance of winning this.

As Yuki raised her sword in preparation for Jacques’ next attack, there was a blast of fire as Ken tumbled out of the nearest hallway. He was smoking and covered in ash, not to mention his shield flickering unsteadily. However, he still got up and raised his sword in anticipation, a determined light in his eyes.

“You okay?” Yuki asked.

“In all honesty...not really.” Ken groaned. “I don’t know about Jacques, but Louis is crazy powerful. Still...we will fight until the end, right?”

Yuki couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the Ken I know.”

Jacques, who had respectfully waited for the two of them to finish their conversation, suddenly created another lance and lunged. His first swing missed and embedded his weapon in the wall, giving Ken an opportunity to shatter Jacques’ weakened barrier with a well-placed stab. Following up on that, Yuki swung her blade into Jacques’ side, slicing a gash in his armor and sending him flying across the hallway.

Louis turned the corner and raised his gauntlet, unleashing waves of fierce electricity that snaked along the walls of the hallway. Ken responded by projecting a magical shield that blocked the blasts, although the effort made the weakened Ken double over in pain. Yuki stepped in front of him and raised her sword in a defensive position as Louis snapped, sending countless blades of light rocketing towards them. With rapid sword slashes, Yuki cut the blades out of the air as Ken recovered and stood on guard again.

Jacques stumbled up to his brother, damaged but still capable. Louis noticed the Radiant Swords’ determined expressions and realized that they weren’t going down without a lot of effort on the brothers’ part. “Hey, Jacques. Should I call in reinforcements?”

Jacques shook his head. “Why? Reinforcements are only needed if we’re having trouble. And I have faith that we can defeat these two.”

“Yes, but pretty much all the Admirals said that there is no overkill…”

Louis trailed off as his brother gave him a peculiar look. It wasn’t really a glare, but it still showed a mix of worry and disappointment.

“Little brother, listen to me.” Jacques said in a low voice. “You chose this path because _you_ wanted this. The Admirals are just here to help us carry out tasks more efficiently. They aren’t here to tell you what to do. If we are villains, then I want you to be the villain _you_ want to be, not the ones the Admirals want you to be. Is your ideal villain the kind who believes in overkill, or one who believes in a fair fight?”

“I…” Louis stuttered, his imposing veneer breaking. “I’m sorry. If I knew you wanted me to act on my own accord so much, I wouldn’t have listened to them so much. I still really want to be a good villain for them...but I suppose what you said was right.”

Ken and Yuki were curious and a bit shocked. The brothers had finally given a tiny bit of information on their inner thoughts, as opposed to the complete mystery they had exuded before. It wasn’t much, but it was still something.

Louis turned back towards his targets. “Fine, then. I suppose we will end this the hard way.”

Ken and Yuki prepared to dodge or block as the two brothers raised their gauntlets together. With a shout, the two knights released twin barrages of blindingly bright energy bolts which shot towards the Radiant Swords. Ken and Yuki, in turn, dashed towards their foes, blocking and dodging everything they could. When they got within melee ranged, they raised their blades and struck as one, as the two brothers did the same to engage them in a blade lock.

Sparks flew and magic arced as the four fighters tried to overpower each other. Louis growled as his gauntlet flared, creating a number of floating orbs which fired beams at the Radiant Swords. They blocked the projectiles with their own shields, but it was evident that their power was weakening. The brothers’ power was also weakening, but their specially designed avatars had been designed to hold more magical energy than any Nano. And while they hadn’t really succeeded in that, Louis’s avatar came pretty close.

Yet the Radiant Swords fought to the very end - until every last mote of their energy had been expended.

So, mere minutes later, the Radiant Swords collapsed in a heap as their magic flickered and faded. They had expended so much energy - both physical and magical - that the brothers didn’t even have to cast immobilization magic on them. They were too fatigued to even move, much less retaliate.

“Augh…” Ken mumbled tiredly. “We...we lost.”

Yuki panted, tears coming to her eyes. “Yu...Kana...we’re sorry.”

With a start, Louis remembered the two kids that had made such an impression on him that day. He wondered how they were doing...and also felt bad for the cruel fate that he had now forced onto them. Perhaps someday, once his self-imposed mission was complete, he could hope to reunite them…

But that was for another day. As of now, he was a fantasy villain - and good villains cared for their goals above all. Encasing the two fighters in magical bubbles, he called in a group of Admirals to capture them and take them away. Even after looking back at everything he had done, Louis couldn’t help but feel some selfish pride. The plan was now one step closer to completion. His story had progressed another chapter, and it was in his favor.

 

Yu and Kana had wandered aimlessly around town for the entire day. While they liked to act independently, living without their parents still made them feel a certain emptiness in their hearts. They had gone around, doing simple things to pass the time, when Kana got a bit curious as to _what_ their parents had gone out to done. It must have been a tough mission, since it was evening and they weren’t back yet. If it was just a normal mission, she had total faith that their parents would complete it in short order.

As he sat in the tree outside their house, Yu perked up as he saw Melody and Xander walking towards them. Jumping off the tree, he gave the twins an enthusiastic greeting. “Oh, you two are here? That’s perfect! Out of all the people in this village right now, you’re the ones most likely to know where our parents are!”

Melody smiled and ruffled Yu’s hair, but her eyes betrayed her - they lacked their energetic turquoise glow, and instead possessed a heavy sadness. Xander’s eyes were identical - after all, they were twins, and they were also thinking the same thing.

“Listen, kids...we’ve got some bad news.”

The siblings hated themselves for telling the kids this, but they believed that the Radiant Swords’ kids deserved to know the truth more than anyone else. As they spoke, Yu and Kana’s smiles slowly dissolved, replaced by a sort of disbelief.

“So yeah. That’s what’s happened.” Xander said darkly. “They’ve probably been captured like the others. Those brothers are so strong…it scares me, honestly.”

Yu’s deep navy eyes were filled with desperate denial. “No way...they’ve been captured? Who could be strong enough to capture our mom and dad?”

“So...they won’t be coming back?” Kana whispered, her eyes welling up with tears. “No...that can’t be true! They’ll escape, and we’ll all be able to see them again! Then...then…”

Kana couldn’t bring herself to say anything else.

Xander lowered her head as Melody cleared her throat. “These are dark times. But just before we met you here, your parents warped something into your kitchen. Pardon us for the intrusion, but Xander spotted a flash of light from the window and went to investigate. Here, have a look.”

The bard pulled out a tattered sheet of paper and handed it to the kids, who stared at it curiously. It seemed to be some kind of floor plan.

“This,” Xander told them, “seems to be some kind of map of the enemy fortress. It appears that your parents had enough foresight to make this and send it back before they got into whatever trouble they got into. It’s not complete, of course, but with this information we might be able to stage a rescue attempt with a higher chance of success.”

Slowly, hope started creeping back into the Nebulous Angels’ eyes. “You...mean that with this map, we might be able to find out where our parents and friends are?”

The artist nodded. “If we’re lucky, then yes.”

“Then we’ve got to go on a rescue mission!” Yu shouted, catching the twins off guard. “The four of us need to get out there and use this map to find them. Then we bust them out and take down those villains!”

“Whoa there, kids.” Melody said cautiously. “You sure about that? We’re facing an enemy that has taken down and captured some of the strongest fighters on the entire planet. And you want us _four_ to go on a rescue mission?”

Xander scratched his head. “Hmm...admittedly, they have a point. The smaller the rescue group, the less likely we are to get detected. And for their own reasons, all of our friends chose to either go by themselves or in a pair. With a slightly larger group...maybe...”

“We’ve got to save them!” Kana pleaded. “They’re in trouble!”

Melody sighed as she saw the desperation in the kids’ eyes. “That might actually work out. I’d like to share this information with Magnus and the others before we make any rash moves, but if it comes to that I’m willing to risk my life to rescue them.”

Xander nodded. “I’m willing as well. If you two are willing, then we will go with you. Are you?”

Yu nodded vigorously. “Yes! We’ve got to save our parents! And if there’s anything we can do to end this fighting, we’ll do it - with no hesitation!”

“Yeah!” Kana practically shouted. “Even if it seems hard, nothing is impossible. Our parents went on an impossible quest and emerged victorious - we’re going to be just like them!”

“That’s the spirit.” Melody told them proudly as Xander smiled. “I’m with you two all the way, and I don’t even need to tell you my brother is. Let’s rest up and plan for a couple of days. Then...it’s time to save everyone.”

The Nebulous Angels nodded. “Mom...dad...we’re going to save you. We swear on our lives - we _will_ save you all!”

And as the four of them stared at the horizon with determination in their eyes and resolve burning in their spirits, the sunset cast a brilliant fiery glow across the cloud-dotted sky. The first real adventure of the Nebulous Angels had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...why did I let DA830 convince me to keep the Coldsteel reference again?
> 
> Hibiki's segment of this took me way longer than I would like to admit.


	5. Conquest 3

It had been a couple of days since the Nebulous Angels Yu and Kana had left on their rescue mission, with the Galante twins backing them up. They had discussed their ideas with Magnus and the others, and they had deemed that their mission could indeed be a success, now that they had more information. After all, they would fare a lot worse in this war if their elite fighters weren’t rescued. However, he warned them not to follow a similar path that the others had - the enemy would probably anticipate it. So, after packing supplies into their remote storages and donning their light armor, they had teleported part of the way there and had decided to discreetly walk the rest.

Despite their young ages, Yu and Kana knew exactly what they were getting themselves into, and they also know how much was riding on their mission’s success. And, like any young child in a situation like this, they were scared. But if there was something that their parents had taught them, it was to never let adversity stop one from enjoying themselves. As such, they were determined to make the best of the rescue mission - treating it as a quest like the one their parents had bested years ago. And since having some fun along the way helped lessen the burden they carried, Melody and Xander were happy to join in. The twins had decided to act a bit like the kids’ surrogate parents for the time being, and it was making everyone involved quite happy.

Even if much of the landscape had been damaged by constant war, Territe still had a lot of beauty to offer. They would spend the mornings and afternoons rushing through fields and forests, gratefully admiring the scenery that had not been destroyed yet. Then, in the night, the four of them would run wildly as if to chase the stars, laughing and marvelling all the while. This helped take their minds off of their impending confrontation, but this was also the way they were approaching their target. Every day, they covered more and more distance, the quartet’s boundless determination carrying then through it all. Not even bad weather would stop them - they would power through downpours and windstorms without any hesitation.

And through all of this, they were gradually approaching the fortress that they would have to infiltrate to save their captured friends and family. They were nervous, for sure - but all four of them were willing to do whatever it took to save everyone, and in turn help end this war.

 

Yu slowly opened his eyes to the sight of an early sunrise. He groaned and got up from his sleeping position, rubbing his eyes at the sudden light. Next to him, Kana yawned and opened her eyes as well. “...Good morning.”

The siblings could barely remember the events of the last night. It had been fairly simple, they recalled. They cooked dinner, Xander told everyone a campfire story, and Melody had sung them a soothing lullaby that had lulled them to sleep almost instantly.

Looking around, Yu realized that they had set up camp on a high cliff overlooking a river. The morning sun bathed the clouds in a brilliant shade of orange, causing the Nebulous Angels to instinctively smile with happiness. Then they looked into the horizon to see that the enemy castle was closer than they had thought. That filled them with resolve.

Behind them, Xander held a pen and a piece of paper as he overlooked the view, using his imagination and skill to translate the sight into images. Next to him, Melody leaned against a tree, strumming her harp while reciting a peculiar poem.

_ “Mechanical bodies, lacking a soul, _

_ Stronger than diamond and colder than stone, _

_ Although you may best us in contests of might, _

_ You will never prevail against our spirits of light.” _

Xander tilted his head. “Did you just make that up?”

“Ah, no.” Melody replied. “I dreamed of it last night.”

Yu and Kana walked up to them, hair in a mess. “Good morning!”

“Morning, kids.” Xander replied as Melody just nodded. “How was your sleep?”

“Fantastic!” Kana chirped. “Melody’s lullaby was really good!”

“Aw, thanks.” Melody said abashedly. Even if they were kids going on a quest as serious as this one, they were still  _ kids _ \- and kids still sometimes deserved lullabies. “I learned it from a book I got off Sophia.”

“Well, we’re getting pretty close.” Xander said as he put away his drawing equipment. “There might be some thunderstorms moving in, but we should still be able to make it to the castle today.”

“That’s great!” Yu exclaimed, clenching his hand into a fist. “We’re one step closer to saving everyone!”

A low, robotic voice spoke in reply. “That’s nice and all, but unfortunately your journey shall end here.”

Xander immediately got up and drew his bow. “Who’s there?”

The Nebulous Angels drew their swords as a pair of machines exited invisibility. The dark-silver robots were about the same height as Xander and bore the appearances of a samurai and a knight, respectively. Single blue eyes peered out of their visors as they menaced the quartet.

The samurai tried for a small bow. “I am Nathaniel, and this is my friend and comrade Bob. We are two trusted Admirals in the service of our good friend Louis.”

“Ah, I thought so.” Melody told them, her harp clutched in her hands. “How long have you been waiting here?”

“Well, we were minding our own business over here, since Louis let us sort of explore a bit and scout out the area.” Bob said, “But then we found you guys sleeping here and realized what you were up to. Since killing people in their sleep is a bit much for the two of us, we sat here and waited for you to wake up first.”

“Aw, that’s nice of you!” Kana told them, voice full of genuine gratefulness.

Bob’s eye widened in appreciation. “Why...thank you! The best villains are noble ones, after all. But still...we’re here to stop you. We will be your opponents now!”

And with twin flashes of light, peculiar weapons materialized in their hands.

Nathaniel held an odd, single-edged sword that had a slight curve to its blade. While its crossguard was a light silver, the hilt and blade of the weapon were a very dark shade of navy. Meanwhile, Bob wielded what looked like a large, pickaxe-like weapon with larger blades than a usual one. Much like the sword before it, its handle was a light silver and its blades a dark navy.

But as the two machines hefted their weapons, the four of them noticed some other similar things about them. First of all, their edges seemed to possess an odd sheen, constantly pulsating with various shades of blue light. The second was that the navy metal the weapons were made of seemed very, very cold. Just by looking at them, they felt an unearthly chill, as if the blades were as cold as the space between stars.

“Here we go!” Nathaniel yelled. “Prepare yourself!”

 

Nathaniel immediately ran at the Galantes, prompting Xander to step back and unleash a volley of magical arrows. Nathaniel attempted to slice some of them out of the air, but a number of them struck his magical barrier and exploded. From those impacts, Xander deduced that their barriers weren’t as developed as some of the other foes they had fought - they were likely not even as strong as their own.

Nathaniel quickly closed the distance and slashed repeatedly. Xander ducked and dodged the attacks before swinging his bladed bow to counter the strikes. As they fought, Xander noticed something odd. Every time he struck Nathaniel’s blade, it seemed to pulse blue for a moment before sucking the light into itself.

Meanwhile, Yu and Kana drew their swords and parried as Bob bore down on them with his pickaxe. It was a highly unconventional weapon that the Nebulous Angels had never really seen before, but judging from the first few seconds of the fight it was fairly similar to fighting someone with a normal axe. Yu blocked Bob’s next strike and lunged, knocking him back a bit. As Kana raised her sword and fired a wave of energy bursts, she was surprised when Bob simply stood there and raised his weapon.

To her disbelief, the weapon’s blades started glowing as the magical bursts were seemingly sucked into its head. Once all the blasts had been absorbed, Bob held his weapon in a ready position, its blades now crackling with energy.

“What? You can do that?” Kana sputtered.

Melody looked over in their direction. “Uh oh.”

With a violent swing of his pickaxe, Bob sent a furious tide of unstable energy roaring towards the Nebulous Angels, who shrieked as they ducked to avoid getting disintegrated on the spot. The missed attack struck a nearby boulder and instantly reduced it to a cloud of dust.

“That pickaxe absorbs magic!” Yu told his sister. “We’ve gotta be careful!”

In the meantime, Nathaniel leapt around, firing blue flares from his blade. Xander shot them out of the air with arrows as Melody unleashed a wave of razorblades. As Nathaniel sliced them out of the air and lunged at Xander, the archer slashed at him with his bow, forcing the samurai to parry the strike. Nathaniel slashed again and missed, prompting Xander to slash at him from the side. The strike was parried, and the strange sword pulsed blue again.

Xander was about to ask what that was all about when Nathaniel recovered and swung down at him. He raised his bow to block the attack, only for the strike to emit a burst of force that sent him flying. As he skidded to a stop, he noticed that Nathaniel’s blade was glowing brightly. Piecing together all of the things he had seen, he groaned as he realized what was happening.

“That blade seems to somehow absorb the power of physical strikes.” he told his teammates. “Don’t hit it!”

The blade’s glow subsided over the course of the next couple of seconds, which meant that the absorption was only temporary. But as the two machines stood next to one another and raised their weapons, the four heroes identified the challenge at hand. With one foe that could absorb the force from physical strikes, and one that could absorb and use magic, the two of them made for a tough pair. They needed to seperate them somehow, or they were toast.

Yu and Kana went for the reckless route and charged at their opponents head-on - which seemed to seriously take them off guard. Before the Galantes could stop them, Yu had already jumped at the surprised Bob and slammed into him sword-first, plowing him into a nearby tree. As Bob recovered and swung his pickaxe at Yu’s head, Kana leapt in and blocked the strike with her katana. Bob struggled to his feet, but Kana had already taken the opportunity to stab at his barrier, cracking it a bit. He swung his pickaxe downwards but missed as Kana nimbly avoided the strike, while Yu struck him with a blow so powerful it knocked him over, sending him skidding across the grass.

_ Damn, these kids are strong! _ he thought to himself.  _ And they’re purposely not using magical attacks, either. This’ll be interesting. _

Nathaniel dashed in to defend his friend, but found himself blocked by Melody and Xander. “Nuh-uh. You’re gonna have to get through us, first.”

Nataniel hefted his blade. “So be it.”

He lunged at Melody and slashed downwards, his blade meeting the stones as she dodged out of the way. Turning around, she unleashed several rays of cerulean light that snaked towards him, striking the barrier that he hastily projected to defend himself. As he turned towards his enemy and prepared to strike again, Xander unleashed a wave of magical arrows that peppered his barrier. Nathaniel grit his nonexistent teeth and slashed the air, firing off several mirror-like beams that Xander blocked with a magical shield. They had learned not to use physical attacks, which was bad for Nathaniel. Their original plan of sticking together and covering each other's weaknesses had gone out the window due to their separation.

Nathaniel slashed and fired more beams as he attempted to dodge the magical barrage the twins were launching. Melody’s buffing magic empowered her brother as he shot out waves and waves of projectiles, while giving them both the mobility to escape Nathaniel's attacks without having to parry them, which would charge his sword. The Admiral groaned in frustration as his attacks were all avoided, rendering his blade unable to absorb any power. He could feel his magic growing weaker, too.

Meanwhile, Kana yelped and jumped aside as Bob’s pickaxe practically split the ground where she had just been standing. Yu leapt in and unloaded a flurry of slashes, which Bob hastily parried. Not being able to use magic was making the fight quite a bit harder for the Nebulous Angels, but they had been trained as swordfighters first and mages second.

Bob leapt backwards and entered a defensive stance as the Nebulous Angels prepared for his next attack. Noticing his partner fighting desperately nearby, Bob laughed as he remembered that his weapon had an advantage over Nathaniel’s sword - after all, he didn’t have to  _ touch _ magic to absorb it. So just as Melody had fired off her next magical barrage, Bob raised his pickaxe and sucked all the magic right into it.

Melody sighed. “Oh no.”

The Nebulous Angels’ eyes widened as Bob raised his glowing pickaxe and lunged at them, furious tendrils of blue flame arcing out of the weapon. The siblings backed up in alarm as he swung repeatedly, firing off crescents of burning energy that seared through the air. The two of them blocked and dodged all the attacks, but they realized that their retreat had put them in a perilous situation. They were now trapped between the Admiral and the edge of the cliff.

Bob raised his weapon as its blades began to glow once more. Then, with a shout, he plunged the pickaxe into the ground, sending numerous flaming fissures snaking towards the Nebulous Angels. As the two children nimbly leapt over the cracks, there was a deafening crunching sound as the rock beneath their boots crumbled and shattered.

Yu and Kana screamed as the entire edge of the cliff they were standing on crumbled and fell into the river hundreds of meters below. Both of them managed to drive their swords into the cliff face to save themselves, but they were now dangling above a fatal drop. Yu panted heavily as he frantically searched for a way out of the situation, while Kana looked down and tried not to throw up.

Xander noticed this and ran to help, only for Nathaniel to intercept him and swing his sword like a baseball bat. While his barrier took the brunt of the impact, the force still sent him tumbling across what was left of the cliff - thankfully in the opposite direction of the edge.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Nathaniel yelled. “You’re not saving your friends just yet!”

“Xander!” Melody cried out, before turning back towards her opponent. That samurai wasn’t going to let her get to her friends  _ or _ her brother without a fight.

As Nathaniel lunged at her, she sidestepped and dodged to the best of her ability while the Admiral lunged and slashed wildly. As one of his missed beams blasted a large rock into rubble, Melody levitated the shards and sent them hurtling towards him. He sliced them out of the air, some of them bypassing his blade and dealing heavy damage to his barrier. However, the ones that his blade struck had their force absorbed - but it had bought Melody enough time to establish more distance.

Blade alight with absorbed energy, Nathaniel dashed at the bard. His next strike missed his nimble target and cleaved an entire boulder in half. Melody backed up in alarm and fired off several lances of light that crunched through what was left of Nathaniel’s barrier. The Admiral growled and fired a crescent-shaped blast of light, which Melody barely ducked under. The blast flew onwards and sliced a tree in half.

Xander roared back into action, firing off several golden arrows that erupted into fiery explosions on impact. While Nathaniel tried to clear out the smoke, Melody strummed her harp as she imbued her twin’s bow with her power. Just as Nathaniel finished blowing away the smoke with his remaining magic, Xander let loose several large spears of brilliant orange light. Taken off guard and depleted of almost all his magic, the stunned Nathaniel could do nothing but put up a weak shield as the arrows struck him, exploded, and blasted him into oblivion.

Meanwhile, Yu and Kana were struggling to gain a foothold. Yu’s sword slipped a bit and caused him to gasp, before Kana let go of her sword with one hand to shove it back into the rocks.

Yu nodded in thanks as he looked around - and saw an unwelcome sight. Turns out that the cliff’s collapse hadn’t taken just them, because Bob was slowly climbing up the cliff, making a beeline towards the kids. His robotic body let him use his bare hands as climbing tools, leaving his weapon at the ready.

The kids gasped and struggled their way to the largest footholds they could find before drawing their swords out of the cliff. Said footholds were barely big enough to hold them, but they would have to do for now.

“Don’t try to fly out or anything.” Yu whispered to his sister. “He can absorb our magic, so all that’ll do is get us killed.”

Kana nodded shakily.

With an enraged roar, Bob clawed his way up to the Nebulous Angels’ level and used his pickaxe to carve footholds of his own. Getting up onto one of said footholds, he hauled back and swing his pickaxe at Yu’s head. Yu yelped and dodged slightly to the side, the weapon’s blade embedding itself into the rocks less than ten centimeters to his neck. The frigid cold emanating from the pickaxe’s navy blades stung his skin, but he swallowed his discomfort and rammed his blade into Bob’s arm, the weapon crackling as it struggled to power through the remainder of his magical barrier.

Just as Bob tried to yank his weapon out of the cliff face, Kana leapt in and slashed at the knight’s arm. His damaged barrier shattered, and the blade cut a gash into his armor. As the Admiral pulled on his pickaxe again, Kana decided to take a risk. Raising her sword and charging it with magical energy, she swung down at Bob’s arm just as he pulled his weapon out of the cliff. The glowing katana sliced his arm off at the elbow, his severed limb and magical weapon tumbling into the river far below.

Bob roared in anger, clenching his other hand into a fist and punching directly at Kana’s head. She barely avoided the strike, and Yu struck him in the shoulder with a downward sword strike. As Yu pulled the blade out of the knight’s armor, Bob used his remaining hand to grab Yu’s arm and slam it into the cliff, eliciting a cry of pain from the boy. As Yu struggled and tried to pry his way out of the Admiral’s mechanical grip, Bob clenched his fist around his arm and began to apply pressure. Since he was unshielded from trying to avoid using magic against Bob’s magic-absorbing weapon, there was a sickening cracking noise as Yu’s arm snapped like a tree branch. Yu screamed as white-hot pain shot through his arm, the child trying and failing to keep tears from coming to his eyes.

Bob was about to attack again or throw Yu off the cliff face when he looked into his target’s eyes and realized how much pain they were filled with. This made him falter as cold realization crept up on him. The fact that Yu was an alien and not a human being didn’t do anything to justify the fact that he had just gone and broken a child’s arm.

During this moment of indecision, Kana yelled with a mixture of anger and fear as she lunged at her brother’s attacker. Her katana pierced Bob’s chestplate and came out the other end, causing the Admiral’s eye to widen in shock. With a shout, she slashed upwards, diagonally slicing the knight’s torso in half before taking off his other arm at the elbow. Without anything to hold onto the cliff with, Bob was rendered nearly helpless as Yu switched his sword to his other hand and slashed, sending the Admiral careening to his demise.

Melody and Xander frantically ran to the edge of the cliff and used magic to hoist the kids back to safety. Xander felt like he might have broken a couple bones from getting baseball-batted by Nathaniel’s sword, but Melody had already healed off the majority of the damage. Yu, however, didn’t seem like he was as lucky.

“Oh, no.” Kana whispered, the sight of her brother injured like this nearly causing her heart to stop. “Yu, please tell me you’re fine.”

Yu groaned, the burning pain from his arm spreading through his body. His right arm was bent at an abnormal angle, but at the same time it didn’t seem  _ too  _ bad. “I...I’ll be fine, I think.”

Melody raised her hand as she attempted to magically trace the wound. “Don’t push yourself. Your bones have been completely snapped, but fortunately the fracture seems to be quite clean. We can probably heal you, but we’ll have to stop and get you to rest a bit.”

Yu propped himself up against a demolished rock as the four of them started attempting to heal his arm. In all honesty, he hated needing to be looked after like this. But he couldn’t argue with the fact that going on like this wasn’t smart. Even his parents, who had suffered injuries far worse than his own, had always stopped to heal before moving forward with their quest.

At least he and his sister had managed to take down an Admiral - even in those dire straits. That was a good sign for them. It was a bit of a morale booster - strengthening their confidence that they were indeed strong enough to complete their mission.

 

“So…” Magnus said quietly. “Are you ready?”

Standing atop a tank, Joseph simply nodded. While the Hoshizora and Galante siblings had left on their mission, they had already gathered all of their forces and started their advance on the enemy fortress. Not only was this massive attack intended to punch through their defenses and open the way to the enemy base, it would also serve as a distraction so their rescue team could sneak into the fort.

The attack was a joint effort between the Magnum and Auroran forces, and as such they had the luxury of having access to both magic and technology. Even though there had been virtually no threats to the planet after the Gods had left, both factions still had a knack for honing their power - especially the Aurorans, who had been eager to see all the new weapons their newfound knowledge would allow them to use.

Sniper rifle in hand, Anthony peered at the enemy fort. “Looks like they’ve arranged a welcoming party.”

Sure enough, an enormous army had gathered to meet them. It looked like tens of thousands of assorted robots, led by a number of small figures that must have been the Admirals in charge of the army. The AI-controlled foot soldiers, while not nearly as strong as the Admirals, had been evolving over the course of the war. Not only were they far more skilled and tough than they used to be, but they could now operate complicated machinery like tanks and even mechas.

The enemy army advanced towards them, then stopped once they were several hundred meters from their opponents. Out of the Admirals leading them force, there seemed to be one who was in charge of everything - a strange entity that looked like an amorphous, vaguely humanoid blob of black sludge. Judging from the way it was keeping itself together, Anthony deduced that the sludge was either magical or some kind of ferrofluid. Or, it could be both.

The Admiral stepped forward. “You are bold to launch an attack on us like this.”

From the backlines, Julius glared at him. “Well, you haven’t really left us much of a choice.”

The ink-black entity just shrugged. “Well, we know who you are. But it would be terribly impolite of us to not introduce ourselves properly. But to be honest, I’m pretty lazy. So, I suppose this will suffice.”

With a snap of his fingers, glowing name tags shimmered into existence above each of the Admirals’ heads. His own name - Xavier - flickered over his head as the Admirals collectively bowed to their enemies.

The leaders of the Nano forces - Joseph, Anthony, Julius, and Magnus - surveyed their opponents in order to check for anything that would be helpful. A lightweight-looking ninja named Yuna had a katana ready to quick-draw at any moment, and the small knight Autumn beside them was leaning against a massive sledgehammer, both their weapon’s head and their armor glowering with orange sparks.

Magnus spotted two lightly armored Admirals to the side named Charles and Dave, who looked almost identical. However, the former seemed to have a number of blades floating around them, while the latter held a number of wicked-looking sawblades. Behind them, an armored knight named Gavin towered over the two Admirals, a large bow in their hands.

Anthony counted them, identifying six Admirals in total. However, he spotted a seventh one named Timothy hiding in the backlines, wearing a military uniform and holding a sniper rifle in their hands. As as sniper himself, Anthony understood how dangerous an enemy sniper was - they would have to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Xavier turned his featureless face towards his enemies. “We will not let you get past this point. You are welcome to try and fight your way through, but first you must accept that we will retaliate in kind if you attempt to fight.”

Magnus maintained a stoic aura. “We will accept your retaliation. But mark my words, we  _ will _ break through here.”

Xavier shrugged. “Then it is settled. We will begin now.”

Yuna made a sweeping motion with her arm. “Attack!”

The mechanical army surged forwards, the Admirals spearheading the charge.

Joseph raised his rifle in the air. “For Territe!”

The army repeated his battle cry. “For Territe!”

And with that, the army advanced. On those battle-scarred plains, the armies clashed as the biggest battle in the planet’s history began.

 

Yu, Kana, Xander and Melody had just managed to sneak up to the outskirts of the fortress, only to find out that Louis was a bit of a showy overlord. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a very good explanation for why there were rivers of lava all around his fort.

Unfortunately for them, the only stealthy way across was to jump on a number of stepping stones in the lava - ones that almost seemed like they had been left there on purpose. Even more unfortunately, the Nebulous Angels had just learned that convection was a thing - and you didn’t actually have to touch lava to feel its effects.

Kana shrieked and rolled on the ground, attempting to put out the flames that had suddenly burst to life on her clothes. Yu was panicking and trying to suffocate the flames with his magic, while Xander and Melody did the same.

Fortunately, it was also raining quite hard, so they managed to stop the flames before they caused any damage. As Kana panted and Yu tended to his sister, Xander silently berated himself. How could they have forgotten about that?

But the Nebulous Angels were spunky kids, so mere minutes later they got back on their feet and declared that they were ready for whatever lay ahead. “What lay ahead” was the lethal hopscotch course set in front of them.

So, after putting up heat-resistant shields, the four of them began their journey, hopping from foothold to foothold as the red-hot lava bubbled and flowed around them. Even with the shields, the heat was still unbearable - not helped from the constant steam rising around them from the rain striking the superheated slag. All four of them were sweating buckets, and they felt like they were being microwaved. And of course, all of them knew that one false step would lead to a swift and painful demise.

On the bright side, Melody was warding off some of the tension by singing ridiculously childish songs as she hopped over the stones, as if this was a simple schoolyard game rather than a life-and-death situation. This brazen display of carefree abandon, combined with Melody’s innate magic, succeeded in bringing small grins to her friends’ faces despite the situation.

Just as the quartet reached the last rock before the end of this infernal obstacle course, there was an earth-shaking quake that nearly caused them to stumble. Looking behind them, they saw a series of massive explosions going off in the distance.

“W-what is that?” Kana whispered fearfully.

“Ah, I’m not sure if we discussed it with you.” Xander told her. “Magnus and the others had decided to stage a full-on assault on the fortress while we snuck in. They’re not only hoping to break through the enemy lines, but they’re also trying to draw the attention of our enemies so that we can sneak in. That means that we should probably get going. They’re doing everything they can to help us.”

Melody simply nodded as she and her brother leapt to the edge of the lava river. Yu and Kana bowed to their unseen allies and silently thanked them before doing the same.

 

Joseph yelled fervently as he unloaded clip after clip of bullets into his enemies, tearing the machines into pieces with his firepower. These robots were tougher than the Mechanoids his city had fended off in the past, but as one of the oldest soldiers in Aurora his rifle was a marvel of weapons engineering, honed over decades of combat. The basic machines were no match for its power. The Admirals, on the other hand…

He grimaced as he spied the Admiral Yuna dashing through a platoon to his left, her blade stained crimson. That particular Admiral seemed to be far faster than the others, having dashed around and utilizing ridiculously fast draw-and-slash tactics that he identified as being similar to that of the iaido techniques he had read about. Her katana humming with resonant energy, she sliced several incoming missiles out of the air before lunging and impaling the first soldier she found. As the others raised their weapons, Yuna raised her blade and slashed several in half with one strike before ducking behind a burning tree to avoid the retaliatory fire that the others put out.

Joseph raised his weapon, making sure that his machete was fastened to his belt. Ever since he had met the Radiant Swords, he had realized the benefits of carrying a melee weapon around - especially against a foe like this. With a click of his trigger, the tree exploded violently, and Yuna leapt out before drawing her blade.

The Auroran general reloaded his weapon and opened fire as Yuna raced towards him, deflecting or dodging all of his bullets. Just as she reached melee range, Joseph holstered his weapon and swiftly drew his machete, blocking the quick-draw that would have taken off his arm. Yuna pushed forward, and Joseph sidestepped before slashing at the Admiral, his strike causing a crack to appear on her barrier. Yuna stepped back, sheathed her sword, and charged again, the general making sure to meet her attack with his own blade.

Meanwhile, Anthony took cover behind a demolished tank as the two Admirals Charles and Dave assailed him from a distance. Dave magically recalled his scattered weapons as he threw another wave of lethal sawblades at Anthony, the serrated discs rending the air itself before slicing through the destroyed tank’s armor and embedding themselves there. While this happened, Charles made a hand gesture as the array of floating blades he commanded dug themselves into the tank. He raised his hands, and the tank began to shake as it was lifted off the ground.

Anthony growled, pulling the pin out of a fragmentation grenade and tossing it over the tank. Seeing the explosive roll towards them, the two Admirals put up shields as it exploded, the flaming shrapnel tearing through a number of their nearby flunkies. A number of Auroran soldiers bum-rushed the Admirals, prompting Dave to recall his sawblades and hurl them in all directions. The blades shot all over the place, ricocheting off destroyed war machines and messily shearing the limbs off soldiers. Meanwhile, Charles manipulated his blades with skillful lethality, deflecting projectiles while cutting down soldiers by the droves.

But even as they were carved to pieces, they would not give up as long as they could still draw breath. That was something that the two Admirals admired - they wished that their real selves possessed courage like that.

Anthony didn’t let the death of his men faze him too much, taking aim and unleashing several high-powered rounds from his sniper rifle. Against concentrated firepower like that, the Admirals’ barriers shattered instantly.

The Admirals leapt backwards and hurled blades at the Auroran commander, prompting him to take shelter behind another destroyed tank. However, he also noticed that there were soldiers being struck down out of nowhere next to him. There would be no warning before it happened, only messy splatters of blood and brain matter as his men were erased one by one.

Anthony grit his teeth.  _ That sniper… _

Kneeling nearly a kilometer away, the Admiral Timothy reloaded his rifle. Taking aim at a soldier suppressing Charles with a grenade launcher, he fired. The high-caliber bullet practically blasted the man’s head apart as he fell.

_ Reload, aim, fire, repeat. _ It was a program he had trained his mind to execute whenever he was playing competitive FPS games. The same skills that he had honed to climb to the top of the leaderboards also served him here, allowing him to score headshot after headshot as his enemies dropped like flies.

The tell-tale whizz of a bullet flying past his head snapped him back to reality - or, at least the reality he was currently a part of. He had been noticed.

Timothy peered around, using his avatar’s enhanced vision to see who had fired at him. Eventually, he spotted an enemy sniper that had his rifle trained on him.

“A sniper duel?” Timothy muttered to himself quietly. “Mate, you’re in  _ my _ territory. I’ll end this quickly.”

The Admiral took aim and fired, his shot blasting a tree into pieces but otherwise missing as his target predicted the shot. A kilometer away, Anthony aimed his rifle and fired, the high-velocity beam instantly shattering Timothy’s barrier. The sniper grit his teeth - he knew he should have bothered strengthening his magical aptitude.

Nevertheless, Timothy aimed and fired again - and this time, he didn’t miss. The bullet struck Anthony in the arm, carving a chunk of flesh out of it. Just as he reloaded to finish his wounded target, Anthony miraculously raised his rifle despite the blood pouring out of his wound. As Timothy momentarily froze in shock at his determination, Anthony fired, instantly blasting the Admiral into scrap metal.

Back on Earth, the real Timothy tore off his headset, panting heavily. He was about to angrily accuse the man of hacking, only to remember that what he had been doing wasn’t a game - there  _ was _ no such thing as hacking. So, he begrudgingly conceded the point to his unknown opponent and left to get something to eat.

Julius ran over to the crippled Anthony and healed his wounds. “You good?”

Anthony panted. “Thanks for that. That sniper was giving us a ton of trouble.”

The Eulogian chief simply nodded, raising his sword in preparation. Julius hadn’t really been satisfied with just using a crossbow, so he and Magnus had designed a special sword together. The weapon was technically just a hilt - its blade was composed of pure magic. It had taken Julius weeks to master the weapon, but it had been more than worth it in the end.

Charles ripped his way through the Magnum assailing him and confronted the pair, Dave at his side. As Dave hurled a pair of sawblades, Anthony blasted one to pieces with his rifle as Julius sliced the other out of the air. Dave reached for another pair, only to realize that they had all been misplaced or destroyed. Since he didn’t have enough magic to teleport out of there, he simply narrowed his eyes and retreated the long way.

Charles activated a hidden rocket booster and shot towards Julius, floating blades at the ready. Combining all of his blades into a single weapon, he slashed at the chief, who blocked it with his glowing sword. Magical sparks flew as the enchanted weapons ground against each other, their owners not about to give up any time soon.

Julius pulled out of the blade lock as Charles separated his blades and sent several of them flying at him. Putting his sparring sessions with those kids to good use, he ducked and weaved between the lethal blades as they chased him around, knocking aside any that he couldn’t dodge. Once he reached melee range, Charles made a sweeping motion with his hand as a number of the blades he had kept beside him swung in a wide arc in front of him. Julius ducked under the strike - the blades cutting off a bit of his hair - before ramming his magic sword into the Admiral’s chest. As smoke and fire poured out of the wound, his blade’s color changed from purple to yellow as he forced a violent surge of electricity into the opening. Charles’ body shuddered and sparked wildly as its internal workings were fried, the Admiral eventually succumbing to his wounds and collapsing to the ground along with his floating blades.

Joseph ran over to his comrades, the arm he had forcefully pulled off of his opponent still clutched in his hand. After having her shield broken and getting her arm ripped off, Yuna had made the smart decision and retreated. Him and Anthony could only exchange brief nods before they saw a cause for concern to their right.

About forty meters away, a soldier let out muffled screams as Xavier’s amorphous hand engulfed his head, slowly suffocating him. As a soldier attempted to save his comrade, Xavier reared back and punched, breaking all of the man’s ribs along with his spine. But as much as he believed that brutality ended fights the fastest, he still wanted to give his foes painless deaths. So, he promptly grasped the man he was suffocating and snapped his neck, before clenching his fist and causing an earthen spike to impale the soldier he had just knocked aside.

As a Magnum who charged him with an axe got pulped by another one of his brutal strikes, he took a massive thunderbolt to the chest and was blasted apart. Twenty meters away, Magnus lowered his staff and narrowed his eyes at the black sludge now splattered all over the ground. As he anticipated, the sludge almost immediately pulled itself together before reshaping itself.

He grit his teeth. This wasn’t like the Magnetron from years ago - this Admiral’s body seemed to lack a core, and the material it was made from seemed far more resilient than the iron sand the Mechanoid had been made of. That was because of its innate magic, no doubt.

As Anthony and some other soldiers engaged the amorphous machine, Magnus looked to the side and spotted a number of other soldiers dealing with two other Admirals. Joseph was running in to help, and Julius had gone off to grab some heavy weapons. As for himself, he wanted to rush in...but he felt like he was onto something.

Meanwhile, the Admiral Gavin stood firm, an oversized bow clutched in his hands. With deadly accuracy, he let loose arrow after arrow, skewering a soldier with each shot. While he didn’t know exactly how he felt about the violence he was causing, he couldn’t help but think about how nice it was to freely practice his archery skills.

As bullets and beams were deflected off of his thick barrier and heavy armor plating, the small knight Autumn next to him raised her hammer. As opposed to Gavin’s simple-but-practical avatar, his little sister had gone for the “absurdly flashy” route. Her armor was covered in magically-charged, reactive plates that would detonate explosions whenever struck, and her hammer was a ridiculous piece of weaponry that Gavin was unfortunate enough to have constructed for her.

With the click of a switch, Autumn raced towards the nearest soldier as the rocket attached to the back end of her hammer flared to life. Bracing herself, she swung the massive weapon, its reactive head triggering just as it struck her target. The resulting blast left the soldier nothing short of liquefied, the gory paste that used to be his body exploding all over the area.

If the soldiers were fazed by this, they didn’t show it, instead choosing to open fire wildly. With every bullet that struck Autumn’s armor, a massive conical blast of flame was shot out in the direction of the attack, forcing her attackers to stay on their toes. Meanwhile, Autumn somewhat clumsily swung her weapon around, its devastatingly powerful strikes obliterating war machines and pretty much pulping incoming soldiers.

Gavin groaned as he wiped some of the visceral pulp off his armor. He  _ had _ been against allowing his younger sister to participate in such violence, but she had  _ really  _ wanted to play what he was playing. It was a good thing that he knew so much programming, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to install that violence-filtering system into Autumn’s headset.

Autumn found herself being attacked from multiple directions, numerous Auroran laser cannons biting into her armor. Gavin snorted a bit as he moved in to protect her, pinning a soldier to a tree with an arrow. “Stop fighting so recklessly so that I don’t have to babysit you as much.”

“You don’t  _ need _ to babysit me! I’m not a kid!”

“Autumn, you’re  _ 8 _ .”

Autumn just muttered something under her breath as she scrapped an incoming tank with a single blow from her jet-hammer. Meanwhile, Joseph moved in and opened fire with his assault rifle, quickly shredding the Admirals’ weaker reinforcements. Gavin raised his bow and fired an arrow, which Joseph swiftly dodged. The oversized projectile struck a tree and nearly split it in half.

Gavin aimed his bow again, only to notice that Joseph had vanished. Surprised, he nocked an arrow and looked around for his target. Meanwhile, Joseph dashed behind a destroyed tank and lobbed a smoke grenade, shrouding the entire area in a dense fog. Autumn’s fiery armor glowered in the smog as she frantically looked around, while Gavin stood perfectly still, preparing for any incoming attacks.

Out of the gloom, Joseph hurled a cluster of fragmentation grenades, triggering a myriad of explosions that shot shrapnel everywhere. As Autumn’s armor detonated over and over again from the impacts, Joseph could see that its reactive properties were weakening. Raising his gun, he unleashed another volley of energy rounds, which engulfed the weakening Autumn in bright light as the bullets blasted shards of her armor off.

The knight stumbled backwards and fell to one knee. As the rest of the Auroran soldiers moved in to open fire, Gavin jumped in front of her and deployed a shield around the both of them, deflecting the shots. Noticing Joseph aiming at them again, he quickly nocked an arrow and fired it straight at his head. A Magnum mage was quick to intervene, however, freezing the arrow in midair before it could skewer the general.

Gavin grit his teeth. “Autumn, you’re not gonna be able to take a lot more. Get out of here.”

Autumn shakily got to her feet, smoke hissing from the numerous perforations in her armor. “We’ve got some backup mechs coming. This shouldn’t take long.”

As if on cue, the air shimmered as someone from their home base warped in a squad of twenty-meter mechanical giants, which shook the ground as they landed. Each one was humanoid, heavily armored, and boasted weaponry comparable to an entire robot battalion. These were experimental models that Gavin himself had designed - since he had an affinity for robotics - and he had confidence in their power.

While the soldiers and mages looked quite shaken, Joseph seemed unconcerned. He pulled out a small transmitter and muttered into it, only to nod and smile mere seconds later.

Almost immediately, there was a rapid quaking as a colossal shape soared over them. An instant later, the Admirals stared in shock as another mech entered the fray and started tearing into their forces with primal fury. The lithe, lightweight goliath let out a mechanical roar as it ripped the arm off of one of the enemy mechs before punching its head hard enough to cave it in.

In the machine’s cockpit, Julius laughed heartily as he maneuvered the controls. It had taken a bit of practice to figure out how to use the thing, but he had managed. And it was paying off, too - while this machine had no weapons, its hand-to-hand combat skills were incredible for such a large mech. Those lumbering metal goliaths didn’t stand a chance.

Gavin futilely shot arrows at the giant fighter as it nimbly dodged a rocket from one of his own mechs, before grabbing its head and grinding it into the ground. The two goliaths skidded across the battlefield, flattening enemy robots before plowing into the remains of an abandoned village. The two of them burst out of the rubble and grabbed each other’s hands, trying to overpower one another. But Julius’ mech was faster, and redirected the force to send its opponent crashing into an abandoned house. As the larger machine struggled, Julius grabbed its head and yanked it clean off.

While Julius engaged the rest of the mech squadron in a brutal slugfest, Gavin and Autumn stared in disbelief as they heard a thunderous roar from further away. Surrounded by a heap of scrap metal and bloodied corpses, Xavier backed up in disbelief as Magnus held his staff high in the air. The sphere of power that encapsulated the amorphous robot seemed to be grasping at the magical energy permeating his body. With a gesture, the sphere glowed brightly and vanished as Xavier fell to one knee. “Wha...what did you do?”

Magnus shrugged as he casually sliced the head off of a robot assassin that had tried to sneak up on him. “I’ve learned a lot from your boss, so I decided to try replicating that thing he tried a while ago. That was a sphere that was specialized to absorb magic - and as much as I admit your body is well-designed, I couldn’t help but notice that your magical shielding was at least partially responsible for your ridiculous regeneration.”

Xavier got to his feet. “Heh...well played, old man. Just so you know, I’m far from harmless without this shielding. Don’t take me  _ too  _ lightly.”

Magnus just nodded as more soldiers rushed in to back him up. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Next to him, Joseph and Anthony raised their guns. “Prepare yourselves!”

And with that, the two armies surged forwards and clashed one last time.

 

“Xavier’s having a bit of trouble, and a lot of our forces have been demolished.” Joe said, reporting back to his leader. “We’re replenishing our forces, for sure, but those Nanos are demolishing them faster than we can rebuild them. What should we do?”

Lazing about on his throne, which was in reality just a small couch, Louis nodded. “Don’t worry. This is quite a glorious battle - an army of heroes against our army of villains. No matter which side prevails, it doesn’t matter too much. It’s already added enough to this story. And if the heroes win, then that is proof of their strength. I am fine with that.”

Joe grit his teeth. As much as he respected Louis, he had no idea why he made these kind of decisions, as if he just wanted to enjoy this. Joe didn’t need to enjoy this - he needed their side to  _ win _ . “Well, our little project is also doing fine. The subjects seem to resist a lot, but we knocked them out and the resistance went down by a lot. But I still have no idea why you requested that they be treated with such hospitality. They’re our prisoners, and they’re not even human to begin with.”

“Hey,” Louis said strictly, “A good villain shows hospitality to everyone he meets, even enemies and prisoners. Whether or not they’re human doesn’t matter. Also, although I still wish to perform this experiment to sate my curiosity...I kind of feel pity for them.”

The Admiral scratched his head. “Also, uh...I’ve been heading the development a superweapon of sorts, but I realized that I had never run it past you first. It’s a joint effort between me and a number of the other Admirals, and I was wondering if I could get your permission to continue.”

“If you’ve already started it, then finish it.” Louis told him. “You can do whatever you want - that was the purpose of entering this realm of fantasy, after all. Just make sure that you don’t activate it without my OK signal, alright?”

Joe nodded and bowed. “Thank you, sir.”

As the butler-like machine left the room, Louis sighed through his heavy helmet. He was itching for a fight against a worthy opponent - is this how all the fantasy villains felt when waiting for the heroes to arrive? He was far from idle - he was working day and night trying to finish Jacques’ super-avatar, after all. But he still craved some real action - action that was quite rare now, because of the overwhelming power his dark-armored body contained. Perhaps the army, if they defeated his forces, would prove to be a match for him...but he had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps another challenger would come first.

 

To their utter surprise, the Nebulous Angels and their cohorts had managed to invisibly infiltrate the fortress without any trouble whatsoever. One would have thought that they would have put some countermeasures after getting infiltrated four times, but apparently they hadn’t thought of that.

Using the map that the Radiant Swords had given them before their capture, they managed to navigate to the teleporters they had drawn and activate them. The devices warped them to an unknown location, which looked exactly like the silver corridors from before. It was only when the quartet looked out the window and saw the metallic ground, black sky, and blue planet in the sky did they realize where they were.

“T-this is that moon! The one the brothers came from!” Melody stammered.

The Nebulous Angels could only nod in shock as Xander tried to memorize the scene for future reference. After a short break where they marveled at the unfamiliar environment, the four of them set off to continue their mission.

This area seemed more heavily guarded than the fort on Territe. Mechanical soldiers patrolled the hallways incessantly, and there were security cameras everywhere. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have a lot of countermeasures against the magical cloaking they were using, so the quartet were fine.

Still, they had no idea where they were actually going. They simply wandered around, looking for things that could possibly help their search. However, it wasn’t long before Melody spotted something odd. A machine that had looked like a robed Admiral had entered a room - but what was peculiar were the contents of the room. As the strange machine entered, Melody swore that she could have seen a number of dark-armored knights lining the walls - ones that looked a lot like Louis himself.

Silently, the bard made a gesture signalling the rest of her group to enter the room. Fortunately for them, the Admiral had left the door open. So, the group silently snuck into the room and discreetly closed the door behind them, only to suppress bewildered gasps at the sight laid out before them.

The dark room was massive and filled with countless pieces of idle machinery. Out of the vast engine, numerous channels seemed to extend out of it, connected to the main machine by conveyor belts. And on those channels stood innumerable robotic bodies, each channel holding a specific type of machine. There were too many to count, but the Nebulous Angels’ eyes widened as they saw two channels filled with heavily-armored black knights and winged golden warriors. As they watched, one of the active sections of the primary machine shuddered before spitting out another copy of the dark knight, which was transported along conveyor belts before sliding to a halt with the others.

A shocked Xander tried for some telepathic communication.  _ “Uh, you seeing this? I think we might have found an answer to one of our oldest questions.” _

Melody nodded grimly.  _ “I-is this how they’ve managed to survive for so long? But that’s absurd! That means that their species is able to transfer their consciousnesses between bodies, or something like that! How is that possible?” _

The Nebulous Angels grimaced. They, and they alone, knew the truth behind the two brothers. And although they had made a promise not to tell anyone, they couldn’t help but quietly tell their friends about their invaders’ true nature.

Melody breathed heavily.  _ “What?! So you’re saying that those two are...humans?” _

Xander put his head in his hands.  _ “That...is a lot to take in at once. But at the same time, it makes perfect sense. If these are just remotely controlled bodies, there’s nothing stopping them from just creating more spares. That simulates the effect of immortality. And I have a hunch that those Admirals use a similar system. Maybe a group of friends from Earth?” _

Melody grit her teeth.  _ “Well, that explains a lot. And that also tells us what we need to do next. We’ve got to burn this place to the ground, so that we finally have a chance at winning this blasted war.” _

However, Yu had spotted a map of sorts and sidled over to it.  _ “Hey! Someone was kind enough to put up a map of this facility here!” _

The other three quickly ran up to the map and peered at it.  _ “Hmm…” _ Kana mused,  _ “This could help, but it doesn’t say exactly where everyone is being kept. And I don’t really like our chances at guess-and-checking these rooms. There could be traps and stuff.” _

Yu’s eyes drifted to the Admiral from before, who was drawing something at a nearby desk.  _ “Maybe he can help us…” _

 

_ Somewhere on Earth… _

The young boy Fred yawned, a headset fastened to his head. “Come on, May, just try it! You’ve been working nonstop for the last three hours! Take a break!”

Standing in the kitchen with a stack of papers in her hands, May Allen just sighed. She had volunteered to go help her friend babysit his younger brother while he went off to work, and it hadn’t been too hard. Fred was fairly mature and didn’t cause a lot of trouble, so May had been free to finish up the work that she had wanted to complete by this week. Yet, Fred had a point. Maybe she really did deserve a break.

She walked over to the boy, who was projecting what he was seeing onto his television screen. Apparently his friend had introduced him to this virtual reality game, where you could play in a fantasy world, create your own avatar, and help your team defeat the enemy. From what he had been incessantly telling her, Fred had created a support mage.

Fred smiled and motioned wildly, his robotic hands on the screen mirroring his actions. May noted that it was  _ incredibly _ smooth for a VR game. In the game, Frederick seemed to be drawing some kind of diagram, so May decided to ask him about it. “What are you drawing there?”

Fred laughed. “Oh, it’s just a diagram for a robot I’m designing for one of my teammates. You can do almost anything in this game - physics no longer binds you, so I can go all-out on this concept design. I’m not smart enough to actually build this, but the person who asked me to design it said they could build it themselves.”

“Really?” May asked incredulously. “That’s really cool.”

Fred smiled again, only to hear a childish voice behind him. “Hey!”

In-game, he whipped around, only to see two blurs leap at him and slam him into the wall. He grit his teeth as his player registered damage, and opened his eyes to a bizarre sight. Standing before him and pinning him to the wall with their swords, two small children glared at him with glowing azure eyes, celestial wings fluttering behind them. Behind the children, two older-looking individuals stood, their golden hair and bright turquoise eyes standing out in the dimly-lit room. One held a bow in their hands, and the other held...a harp?

May stared in shock as Fred groaned. “Who...are you?”

“That doesn’t matter!” the young boy yelled, in a high-pitched voice that indicated that he couldn’t have been older than 11. “You might know where your prisoners are being kept, and we want to know that as well. We’ve already gotten rid of your spare bodies and all the security cameras, so this is your last life - and nobody’s coming to help you. So, you’re going to spill about where they are, or...or….”

The girl brandished her sword. “Y-yeah! We’ll...uh...we’ll shish-kebab you, cut you to ribbons, and throw you out the window! I-I swear it!”

Even in a situation like this, seeing those two little kids trying to be intimidating made Fred laugh a bit. “Aw, you’re so cute!”

The boy’s face flushed red. “Cute? We’ll see how cute you think we are when I drive this sword into your-”

“Yu, calm down.” the older boy in the back said. “Regardless, we need to know where you’re keeping those prisoners. And unless you want us to make you take a permanent leave from this world, you’re going to tell us, and quickly.”

As Fred wondered what to do, May was in shock. Those two kids looked familiar...all too familiar. In fact...they looked like smaller versions of those two heroes from Territe, the Radiant Swords.

In that moment, a number of pieces clicked together in her mind, and she decided to take a leap of faith. “Fred, give me that.”

Fred was a bit surprised at her sudden request, but he handed over his headset. May put it on, getting used to the shift almost instantly. She cleared her throat. “Er...sorry about that. I’m taking over this body for now. Can I have your names?”

Yu lowered his sword, a little shocked at their target’s sudden change in temperament. “Uh...I’m Yu Hoshizora, and this is my sister Kana. Those two are our friends, Xander and Melody Galante.”

May was stunned. “Did you say your last name was Hoshizora?”

Kana nodded. “Yeah! We’re the kids of the Radiant Swords, the Nebulous Angels! Ken and Yuki are the greatest heroes ever, and they’re also the best parents we could ever ask for! So, since they’ve been kidnapped and might be held here, we’ve come in to rescue them!”

May gulped as she tried to take this all in. “...Tell me more.”

So, the next five minutes or so were Yu and Kana answering all of May’s questions about the world, which confirmed all of May’s suspicions. Next to her, Fred watched the scene with growing dread, as he realized the true nature of what he had been doing this whole time.

May’s eyes hardened. “Thank you for the information. I can take action accordingly now. Oh, by the way, the name’s May Allen. Nice to meet you.”

The Galantes stepped back in shock as the Nebulous Angels gasped. “You...you’re  _ the _ May! You’re the one who used to be a God, right?”

May cringed at the mention of her old title, but nodded. “Yes.”

As she asked Fred for the information she needed, the Nebulous Angels were in awe. “Uh, do we still have to bow to you, like our parents did?”

“No! I mean, please don’t.” May blurted out. “Anyways, I believe the people you are looking for are held here.” She pointed to a room on the map. “Go there, and you should be able to rescue them.”

“Thank you!” the Nebulous Angels said, bowing to her. Xander elbowed the siblings and muttered his own plan. “You know what, you two go on ahead. Me and my sister will raze this factory to the ground.”

To his surprise, the siblings had no objections to their plan - they saw the efficiency in it. So with a brief farewell, the Nebulous Angels ran off to rescue their captive friends and parents.

Xander turned back to the Admiral, only to find that they had seemingly shut down. Shrugging, his attention was grabbed by a peculiar planner, which he observed. “Uh-oh. It looks like they were planning to create a brand new, improved robot body for Jacques, one rivaling Louis in power. One superpowered villain is enough, but two of them means that we’ll have no chance of winning. We  _ have _ to destroy this place. You hear that, Melody?”

“Uhhhh, Xander?” Melody’s voice echoed back. “You may want to see this…”

Xander turned around, only to back up in surprise as he saw a colossal shape looming over them, a single golden eye illuminating the gloom.

 

May clutched her phone in one hand, and a slip of paper in the other. Fred watched on as he tried to process what had just happened.

This was a bigger problem than she had thought. She had hoped that Territe would have been left alone after they stopped their research, but apparently that hadn’t happened.

She never thought she would have to call some of these numbers again, but now she did. With trembling hands, she punched in the numbers and hit the call button.

After a delay, a voice spoke through her receiver. It had become a bit raspy from old age, but May still heard the voice of her former research head loud and clear.

“Hey, this is Tobias. May...it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

 

Jacques Durand had been absolutely sure that he would be able to finish that bed of his this time. Yet, his hopes were dashed when two angry children kicked open the door to the room and interrupted him. Ah, fate was cruel sometimes.

“You!” Kana yelled, pointing her sword at Jacques. “Where are our friends?”

Jacques sighed. “Can you wait up a bit? I want to finish this.”

“No!” Yu shouted. “Tell us where our parents are!”

The golden warrior shook his head and stood up, towering over the children. Raising a hand to his ear, he contacted his brother. “Is our experiment ready yet? I’m interested to try it out.”

Louis replied immediately. “Go right ahead, big brother.”

Jacques nodded and raised his gauntlet, its crystal glowing with pure white light. As the Nebulous Angels prepared for an attack, Jacques snapped his fingers and simply created a bright flash of light. And once the radiance subsided, the Nebulous Angels were flabbergasted to see their friend Sophia Aurelius standing before them.

“Sophia!” Yu cried, sheathing his weapon and running towards his friend. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much! You’re okay!”

“You’re alive!” Kana yelled happily. “Oh, I’m so happy!”

As Yu ran to give her a hug, Sophia’s expression didn’t change. In a single motion, she drew her sword, raised it, and swung downwards.

 

Kana stared in disbelief, her hands clasped over her mouth.

Jacques looked down at them stoically, his emotionless red eyes betraying a bit of pity.

Yu froze in shock, his eyes widening in surprise and pain.

The room was silent except for the steady drip of blood hitting the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nathaniel and Bob's weapons were kind of based off of the Mirror Blade from Terraria Calamity. Also, I actually _did_ dream up that poem Melody recited.
> 
> I originally had a lot more plans for the war sequence, but I kind of lost inspiration partway through. Not exactly sure what made me remember the idea of reactive armor, but oh well.
> 
> First time trying to end a chapter on a bit of a cliffhanger, I guess.


	6. Conquest 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not exactly sure if I like how this one turned out, but I really can't be bothered to add anything else to it.

Melody and Xander stood by each other and slowly backed up as the colossal entity cloaked them all in its shadow. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a massive robot of some sort, standing at least twenty meters tall and with thick plates of greyish-white armor encasing its hulking frame. In between its armor plates, its joints seemed to be composed of some kind of metal that pulsated with a bright golden sheen. Its head was shaped like a solid hood of sorts, with a single golden eye peering out of it. Protruding from its back were a number of devices that resembled weapon systems.

As the goliath menaced them, Xander decided to start simple. “...Who are you?”

To his surprise, the machine spoke in a deep, rumbling baritone. “I am a security-type Sentinel machine, with the arbitrarily assigned code MBC-257K. My creator, the Admiral known as Gavin, gave me the codename “Adamant Colossus”. I was stationed here and given a single duty - to eliminate all unauthorized personnel that enter this room.”

Xander raised his bow as Melody prepared to defend. However, she had immediately noticed a loophole in their opponent’s objectives - assuming it had stated its orders quite literally. _“Hey, Xander? That thing said it’s objective was to eliminate unauthorized personnel, not defend the factory. If we can lure him around or something, this big guy might end up being helpful.”_

Xander nodded. _“Good point.”_

The Colossus spread its hands, the weapons on its back flaring to life. “I have stated my purpose. Now I will carry it out. Goodbye.”

With a repeated flashing of its eye, a massive fusillade of rockets blazed out of the launchers on its back, the projectiles arcing around the huge chamber before streaking towards the twins. Xander raised his bow and shot as many as he could out of the air, while Melody raised a shield to block what her brother couldn’t intercept.

Once the firestorm cleared, the Colossus lunged at the pair, its fists crackling with golden lightning. Xander leapt aside as the machine struck with a brutal two-handed overhead swing, generating an electrified blast of force which blew Xander away. Meanwhile, Melody rained magical blades down on the goliath, but it seemed to have some form of golden-yellow shield encapsulating it. Fortunately, Melody didn’t detect any magical energy coming off of it, so at least the shield would still take full damage from their magic attacks. However, she could sense a powerful magical force coming from within the Colossus itself - it likely operated on a mix of magic and technology.

Xander groaned as he realized that the commotion was liable to draw attention to them. However, soon he noticed that there was a thin field of magic shimmering along the walls of the room, which seemed to be neutering the sound waves that struck it. Looking to his side, he saw the Admiral from before was leaning back from their chair lazily, a glowing staff clutched in their hands.

Xander could just nod in thanks before the Adamant Colossus raised its launchers and fired nearly its entire arsenal of rockets at him. He leapt high into the air as the blast turned the floor beneath him into a smoldering patch of superheated metal, before aiming his bow and unleashing a hail of arrows that drove themselves into the machine’s shield before exploding, causing it to flicker as it registered damage. The Colossus raised both fists in the air and smashed the ground, sending an electric shockwave towards Xander. He leapt out of the way in the nick of time as the blast tore into the robot factory, blasting a chunk of the vast machine into rubble.

Melody waved her hands in the air as glowing golden bonds encircled the massive robot before tightening around it. The Colossus made a metallic grinding sound as it strained against the bonds, its raw strength snapping the magical cables one by one. However, Melody wasn’t done - straining as she made a lifting motion with her hands, her magic seized the countless inactive battle machines standing along the conveyor belts. Immediately, several dozen robots floated into the air, turned towards the Colossus, and raised their weapons.

Melody’s face was beaded with sweat as she exerted waves of magical energy, sending her newly acquired puppets hurtling towards her enemy. While they couldn’t use their magic powers this way, their weapons still struck fast and hard, causing the Colossus’ shield to flicker repeatedly. With a roar, the goliath let off fierce arcs of electricity, blasting the smaller unshielded robots to ashes. Then, turning towards Melody, its eye blazed as it braced itself and leapt at her. Melody barely had enough time to jump backwards before the Colossus slammed down on the machine where she used to be standing, utterly annihilating it. It wasn’t done, however - the golden parts of its body lit up with a harsh radiance before it unleashed a massive pulse of electricity.

Melody landed on her feet, only to see the tidal wave of crackling energy hurtling towards her. She raised her harp and put up a shield that barely absorbed the brunt of the force, the lethal sparks crashing over the glowing barrier. Before she could fully recover, the Colossus raced at her and delivered a swift underhand punch, sending her flying across the chamber. The bard struck the far wall and slid to the floor, the broken pieces of her barrier falling around her. She had probably cracked a few bones, but it was a miracle she hadn’t broken her spine.

As the Adamant Colossus moved in for the kill, Xander swooped in and slashed at the giant’s fists to distract it. While the machine turned to its new foe, he scooped up the wounded Melody in his arms and leapt from foothold to foothold while the titan shot bolt after bolt of shimmering gold lightning from its hands. Just as he made it to the other end of the room, a stray bolt of lightning struck his shield and sent him tumbling to the ground. While he had managed to land on his feet, the landing hadn’t been optimal - judging from the cracking sound, he was sure he had either twisted or broken his ankle.

“Xander, you alright?” came Melody’s shaky voice.

Xander grit his teeth as he sucked it up. A little pain wouldn’t stop him.

The Colossus roared, breaking into a sprint as it plowed through the factory to get to its targets, leaving a trail of flaming debris in its wake. Melody raised her harp and empowered Xander with as much energy as she could muster, causing his bow to glow a brilliant crimson. With a shout, Xander let loose a gigantic spearhead of blood-red light, the veritable tornado of an arrow striking its target cleanly in the chest and stopping it cold. It didn’t stop there, however - the arrow continued pushing the stunned Colossus back until it exploded, sending the goliath toppling over with a titanic crash.

Noticing some mechanical grabbers hanging from the ceiling, Melody snapped her fingers as numerous cerulean blades severed them from their chains. Just as the Colossus was about to get up, the grabbers crashed down on its limbs, pinning them to the ground as Melody used heat magic to weld its restraints to the floor.

The giant strained against its bonds, but failed to notice Xander drop on it from above and ram the magically-charged blades of his bow straight into its shield - which, weakened as it was from the Galantes’ attacks and its own reckless charging, shattered. Xander leapt into the air and unleashed a hail of glowing arrows, each one blasting chunks of the now unshielded robot’s armor off.

The Adamant Colossus discharged arcs of electricity everywhere, blasting machines into scrap metal as it pulled its hands free from its bonds. Just as it was about to reach out and grab the falling Xander, Melody mustered up her remaining magic and manually pinned the giant’s arms again. The machine strained, nearly causing Melody to collapse from pain, but the deed had been done. With a final attack, Xander landed on the fallen titan’s chest, rapidly slashed its armor open, and drove his bow into its chest cavity. With a wrenching motion, he loosened and tore out a glowing golden orb that was crackling with warm golden light. With its apparent power source removed, the Colossus gave a dying roar before its eye dimmed and went out for the first and last time.

Xander landed on his feet, only to collapse a moment later. Melody panted heavily as she tried to detect their wounds. She had cracked a rib, and Xander had twisted his ankle. All in all, not bad.

Xander sighed and leaned against the unmoving wreckage of the Adamant Colossus, using his remaining magic to heal himself and his twin sister. “Well...mission accomplished, huh? I’m keeping this core thing, though. It looks nice. I might draw it someday.”

Melody looked around, taking in the utter ruin that had once been the source of their world’s troubles. The Admiral that had helped them muffle their sound was nowhere to be found - they had probably fled, deactivated, or been destroyed in the crossfire. “Yeah. Whoever designed this robot might want to rethink their programming skills.”

Within about ten minutes, the Galantes had managed to mostly recover from the fight. Reengaging their cloaking magic, the two of them walked out of the devastated factory and set off to find their friends.

 

Yu backed up slowly in shock, blood dripping from the large slash wound in his arm. As the metallic floor became stained with crimson splotches, he heard his sister scream his name. But he felt dizzy - and not just from the blood loss.

“Yu!” Kana yelled frantically as she attempted to heal her wounded brother. Yu added his own efforts too, although he seemed like he was in a daze. As the cut stopped bleeding and began to close, Kana stared at Sophia - no, whoever it was that had stolen the appearance of their friend, her blood-stained sword humming gently in the silence. “What did you do to her?”

Yu’s eyes lit up in a rare display of fury. “That’s not Sophia! What have you done to the real one? Tell us - NOW!”

Jacques stared at them with intrigued eyes. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but this is Sophia Aurelius in the flesh. Well, her mind may not be the same as the Sophia you knew. After seeing her power, along with capturing her as per my brother’s plans, we had decided to perform an experiment of sorts. Your species’ minds are extremely resilient, I’ll admit. But through certain applications of magic and technology, we were able to...bend them to our will, so to speak.”

The children practically exploded at this, their wings flaring to life as their swords blazed as bright as shooting stars. They couldn’t even bring themselves to express their anger in words - they could only do so with the power radiating from their bodies.

Jacques, in the face of this display, just nodded and flew up high into the air before surrounding himself with a thick barrier. “I understand your anger. But please, do go along with this so that I can record the results.” He pointed at Sophia and gave her a psychic command. “Attack. This is to the death. No draw, no escape.”

Like a loose puppet that had suddenly gotten its strings reattached, Sophia rose unsteadily and clutched her sword in her hands. Raising it, she ran at them.

For all of their anger, the Nebulous Angels couldn’t possibly take it out on their friend - so, they split up as Sophia shot a devastating laser which barely missed them. Transforming her blade back into its standard configuration, she slashed at Yu as Kana took to the air. Yu blocked the attack before using the absolute minimum necessary strength to push Sophia away. The mage noticed Kana floating in the air with her celestial wings, and pointed her sword at her as its edges began to glow.

“Sophia, no!” Kana cried. “Stop this! We don’t want to fight!”

To her utter surprise, Sophia lowered the sword. Her eyes, which had been dull up until now, suddenly shone with a bit of their old radiance. “W-what?”

Yu stared in surprise as Sophia seemed to struggle with an unseen enemy. Jacques, for the briefest of moments, looked concerned. However, as Sophia shook her head repeatedly, the dullness crept back into her eyes. “I...must kill...you…”

“No you don’t, Sophia!” Yu shouted, blocking her next rail cannon blast with an arc of azure electricity. “This isn’t you!”

“I...I…” Sophia stammered, stumbling around like she couldn’t control herself. “Yu? Kana? I’m so...tired...can’t...urgh…”

“You can overcome this. We believe in you!” Kana encouraged.

Sophia’s eyes dulled again as she launched herself at Kana, who blocked the attack. Sophia retreated before striking again, Kana making sure to not use any force in retaliation. This time, Sophia switched her blade into its pronged configuration, snagging Kana’s blade and twisting it out of her hands.

As the now-disarmed Kana scrambled for her sword while avoiding Sophia’s strikes, Jacques activated his headset. “Uh, I’ve detected a bit of a problem. Sophia’s mind is resisting far more than I thought, which is making her combat incredibly unsteady. The others are liable to do the same. You might be advised to do something about it - I’m a bit busy now, so I can’t.”

“Hm. Thanks for telling me.” Louis mused. “I’ll see what I can do. Hopefully I can finish it up quickly.”

Sophia’s repeated swings cut molten gashes into the floor as Kana successfully retrieved her sword. The mage shakily raised her hands before unleashing several crackling tendrils of electricity, which Yu leapt in to block. However, Sophia seemed to have regained some semblance of control over her mind - her eyes were flickering rapidly, and her movements were jerky and a bit uncontrolled.

“Urgh...you two.” Sophia breathed. “I can’t...seem to get a hold of myself. Before I cause you any harm...I want you to try attacking me. Perhaps a shock or a magical burst will...undo whatever’s been done to me.”

“But we don’t want to hurt you!” Yu protested as he barely avoided another rail cannon blast.

“...Just do it!” Sophia pleaded. “Strike me with whatever you feel will help. Do whatever is necessary to save me from this...before I…”

Her eyes hardened again. “You...you will die.”

The Nebulous Angels hated to harm their friend, but they came upon a silent agreement that it was worth it to free her from this. As Sophia bore down on them with her sword raised, Kana blocked the strike as Yu’s eyes glowed. Muttering a quiet apology, he released a wave of force from his palm, which sent Sophia flying across the room. She slammed into the wall and crumpled to the floor.

Yu and Kana immediately sheathed their weapons and ran over to their fallen friend. As Kana stared at her with concern, Yu repeatedly shook her. “Sophia? Come on, wake up! Are you okay?”

To their relief, Sophia groaned as her eyes fluttered open. “I...I can control myself again?...Thank you so much, you two. I owe you.”

“We’re sorry for hurting you, though!” Kana sputtered.

Sophia just shook her head. “Well, that saved me. You don’t need to feel bad about it, especially since I told you to do it. Besides,” she said, looking at the dried blood on her sword, “It looks like I did a number on you too. My most sincere apologies.”

“Er...don’t worry about it.” Yu said slowly, feeling where the slash wound in his arm used to be.

Sophia managed a smile. “This...whatever they did to me has left me so, so tired. But it seems that this control is flawed - perhaps something like blunt or magical trauma can undo it. Please remember that, since I wasn’t the only one to get-”

She was cut off as a bright flash of light enveloped her.

Yu and Kana tried to grab hold of her, but only grabbed empty air. Looking around, the pair saw Sophia encased in a small golden bubble, floating high above them. Next to the trapped mage, Jacques hovered silently, his gauntlet glowing with a warm light.

“I thank you two. This experience has already been an intriguing one. However, the test is not yet complete. Prepare for your next opponents.”

With a snap of his fingers, there was another flash of light. The Nebulous Angels’ hearts sank as they recognized the two silver figures that now stood before them, weapons raised and glowing with the nigh-unmatched magical potential that they had admired so much.

“Now, let the test begin."

 

_Two minutes later..._

Yu barely managed to put up a shield as Mitama slammed into him, sending him flying across the room. As he tumbled to a halt, Mitama charged up and lunged faster than he could blink, only for Kana to swoop in and block the strike that would have taken her brother’s life. Mitama’s dull grey eyes bored into her as the older swordfighter applied more force, causing Kana to grit her teeth and push back harder. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Hibiki raise her wand. Kana yelped and pulled out of the blade lock, tackling Yu out of the way before the incoming beam nearly blasted them into dust.

“Huff...huff…” Yu panted. “What? They aren’t even trying to fight against the control this time? Mitama, Hibiki, what’s wrong with you?”

Mitama hauled back and swung again, her charged blade embedding itself into the floor five centimeters from Yu’s head. He quickly got to his feet and leapt away, only to see Hibiki with her wand raised and a small meteor hovering over her head.

“Oh, come on! Don’t you recognize us?” Yu shouted imploringly.

Hibiki paid no heed to his words as she hurled the fireball at them. “Desist in your actions!”

Yu used a magically-assisted jump to leap away, as the attack blasted everything within a twenty-meter radius into slag. “What did you say?”

“Stop this!” Hibiki yelled as if daydreaming, twirling her wand as she sent more spears hurtling in his direction. “Just stop fighting!”

“We don’t want to fight, though!” Kana shouted in surprise.

“I...I will do whatever it takes to end this fight quickly.” Hibiki muttered. “Even if...it means I have to...destroy you both.”

Yu fended off the next furious thunderbolt from the mage, only for Mitama to leap at him and slash at his neck. He blocked the strike, but the resulting blast of magical energy made him feel like he was getting his skin seared off. Mitama pressed forward with a series of rapid slashes that started pushing him backwards. Yu frantically tried to fend off the attacks, only for Mitama to go for the direct route and just tackle him. She slammed him into the nearest wall before stabbing at his head again. Yu barely managed to duck to the side, the blade tearing a gash in his wings.

 _“Hibiki’s being...odd.”_ Kana told her brother telepathically as she dodged another searing ray of heat. _“I know that she’s always been one to stop fights, but it’s almost if she still believes in that - but her beliefs are being twisted.”_

Yu barely had time to catch his breath as Mitama yanked her sword out of the wall and slashed at his neck. He blocked the strike with his own sword, but the shock sent him flying yet again. As Mitama lunged again, Yu caught her weapon in a blade lock and twisted, sending the sword clattering to the ground. However, he had underestimated how ruthless of a fighter Mitama was to her enemies - he barely had time to see her left fist clench before it collided with his face, sending him flying again. He tumbled to the ground and tried to blink the spots out of his eyes as Mitama retrieved her sword and raised it again.

The boy groaned, wiping the blood from his nose. The throbbing pain was impeding his sight. But as he saw Mitama prepare another round of attacks, he decided to test out his sister’s theory. “...Mitama. Tell me - why do you fight?”

To his surprise, Mitama gave him a straight answer, although the strain in her voice couldn’t go ignored. “I...have to protect my sister. You...are threats to her. And my duty...is to eliminate threats to her safety. I’ve failed...too many times already. All that pose a danger to her...will be erased.”

“I...just stop, everyone…” Hibiki muttered in a daze.

Kana ran over to her brother as the sisters raised their weapons again. _“I was right. They’ve just had their innate beliefs turned against us. If I could make a guess, perhaps we could just use their beliefs to end this fight without hurting them.”_

Yu tilted his head. _“What do you mean?”_

_“Mitama believes us to be a threat to her sister. Hibiki wants to end the fight as fast as possible. If we can get Mitama to see that we mean no harm, she might just stop fighting. And if the fight stops, Hibiki no longer has a reason to attack us. Then, we can try to undo that stupid brainwashing thing.”_

Yu nodded as he deftly avoided another fireball from Hibiki. _“If that’s the case...I have an idea of how we’re going to do that.”_

As he told his idea to Kana, any lesser child would have been stricken with overwhelming fear. However, Kana’s eyes just hardened with resolve. _“If that’ll save them...I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”_

And with that, the Nebulous Angels stood next to each other and sheathed their swords, their magical barriers powering down.

Jacques’ eyes widened as the Nagoyaka sisters stared at each other. Hibiki hesitated as her grip on her wand loosened. Mitama looked back at her opponents with suspicion.

“Mitama, Hibiki...we lay down our weapons for your sake.” Yu told them, holding out his arms as if to embrace them. “We truly don’t want to fight you, and we are willing to do whatever it takes for you to see that.”

Kana did the same. “So, please. Come back to us.”

Mitama staggered a bit before the brainwashing set in again. Eyes hardening, she raised her sword and launched herself at the Nebulous Angels.

Yu and Kana held out their arms and braced themselves as Mitama stopped a meter in front of them, unsteadily raised her blade, and swung.

Twin screams of anguish echoed through the room as the blade sliced into Yu and Kana’s arms, cutting them to the bone. Kana grit her teeth and tried to suck up the white-hot pain coursing through her whole body, while Yu trembled from shock and tried to hold back the glowing blade.

Mitama, although surprised, pressed harder. The Nebulous Angels felt their bones fracture a bit more, and held back their tears. They had to look strong for their friend, after all.

“Mitama...I mean what I said. We’re willing to do whatever it takes to let you know that we _don’t want to fight_.” Yu panted, blood dripping from his arms. “Do whatever you will to us. If you need to, you may even take our lives. All I ask of you is that you snap out of this - and _come back_.”

Kana couldn’t hold back her tears of pain any longer, her teardrops mingling with the growing pool of scarlet on the floor. “We...would rather bleed and suffer than have to fight a good friend. Our pain...it’s all for you and Hibiki...and if it makes you come back to us, I’ll gladly repeat this a hundred times. Just heed our message...we _mean you and your sister no harm._ Please…”

The siblings were overwhelmed with another bout of pain as Mitama’s blade cut deeper into their bones. All they could do now was endure the pain and pray.

“...Mitama! Please...stop!” Hibiki exclaimed, dropping to her knees as her eyes flickered. “The fighting has stopped...and they can’t even fight back. Stop this!”

“Sis…” Mitama muttered, as if she was in a daze. “They can’t fight back...I shouldn’t be doing this...they pose no danger.”

Slowly, Mitama lowered her sword. The Nebulous Angels fell to their knees and let their instinctive tears flow freely. Mitama collapsed to her knees as well, her blade clattering to the floor. Her eyes fluttered closed, before opening again. “Yu? Kana? Ugh...I just had the worst nightmare…”

“You two? W-what happened here?” Hibiki groaned tiredly.

The Nebulous Angels swallowed their pain and smiled. “Oh...you’re back! We’re so glad you’re back! Thank goodness! We missed you so much...we thought you would be gone forever...”

The confused Mitama managed for a small smile as her memory returned. However, said smile quickly turned to an expression of shock. “W-wait! Why is there so much blood? You two...oh god. You’re hurt really bad!”

“...No! Oh no, this is bad…” Hibiki stuttered, running over to them. Within seconds, the vast magical power that they had faced mere minutes ago was fully dedicated to healing their wounds.

As the Nebulous Angels shakily added their own power, the bleeding stopped. As their numerous wounds gradually closed, Hibiki collapsed on her knees and started sobbing. “W-we did this to you, didn’t we? That’s horrible...that’s too much. I can’t believe it...what kind of friends are we? This is...”

Mitama shuddered, but her eyes refused to produce any tears. “Unbelievable. I can’t believe we’ve done something like this. And you saved us, too...we don’t deserve your friendship. Not even a hundredth of it.”

“Please, don’t say that.” Kana whispered. “This was our choice to make - and you didn’t even have a choice. You were forced to do this against your will. The person that hurt us wasn’t you. You were always our friends, and will always be our friends. And friends...they help each other no matter what.”

Mitama and Hibiki were too shaken to reply, simply holding out their arms. The two children ran up to them and gave them tearful hugs.

However, soon the sisters collapsed, too drained to move. As the Nebulous Angels reached out to them, they vanished in a puff of golden light. Slowly turning back to where Sophia was being held, they saw that two more figures had appeared in the bubble.

Yet, as Jacques hovered next to the cage, something was off. His eyes stared at the children with admiration. And every couple of seconds, he raised a finger to his eye and made a wiping motion.

Was he...crying?

“...Incredible. You two are incredible.” Jacques whispered. “I could never...no, nobody I can imagine could muster up the courage to do what you two just did.”

As the children stared up at him, he regained his composure. “I’ve put you through more than anyone should ever have to go through. But to finish what I’ve started, I must test you one last time. I don’t expect your forgiveness...prepare for the final test.”

And with another snap of his fingers, two more figures materialized before them in a puff of glowing smoke. As Yu and Kana peered into the gloom, they gasped and staggered backwards at the sight of their next opponents.

Standing next to one other, with their swords raised and glowing, were none other than the Radiant Swords themselves.

 

 _Nope_.

Fighting their brainwashed friends, whom they cherished with all their hearts? That was one thing.

Fighting their brainwashed parents, whom they loved unconditionally and dedicated their lives to? That was something else entirely.

“Oh, no.” Kana muttered in disbelief. “No, no, no.”

“Mom? Dad? Can you hear us?” Yu pleaded.

The Radiant Swords didn’t respond, their once-sprightly eyes now dull. Without a word, they launched themselves at their children, who panicked and ran.

Sophia stared on helplessly as Hibiki cringed. “This is cruel...too cruel…”

“You...you’re sick.” Mitama growled.

Yu yelped as Ken’s sword came hurtling towards him, missing his ear by mere centimeters. The young boy had refused to even draw his weapon. Meanwhile, Ken leapt at him again and slashed repeatedly, prompting Yu to take rapid leaps backwards.

Yuki leapt in from the side and slashed, her strike scoring a solid hit on Yu’s shield that sent him flying. Kana moved in to protect her brother, mustering up the will to draw her sword. Her shaking hands gripping the katana’s hilt, she stood in between Yu and their parents. “W-why are you doing this? Don’t you remember us?”

To her surprise, Yuki nodded. “I...I do. Yu..Kana…”

Ken shook his head. “That’s why, on our honor...we must make you turn back this instant. Not even we could defeat the foes that lay ahead...you two would get slaughtered.”

“But we can try!” Yu shouted. “We’re not helpless!”

Neither of the Radiant Swords said anything else. They just raised their swords and attacked again.

Kana blocked Yuki’s incoming katana slash, although the stronger fighter’s strike nearly forced her to her knees. Ken moved in and slashed at his daughter, the strike hitting her sword and sending her tumbling across the ground. Meanwhile, Yuki launcher herself into the air and hurtled at Yu, who deflected the strike off of his blade. However, she immediately followed up with a fierce blast of light, which Yu had to block with his barrier.

Kana projected a shield over both of them as Ken’s blade glowed. With a slash, the Starry Sword shot out a fusillade of fiery comets which streaked towards the children. Kana’s barrier shuddered and flashed as the comets exploded on its surface, but it held. She grit her teeth as she felt the barrier weaken.

Meanwhile, Yu ran around as Yuki dashed after him, repeatedly slashing the air to fire magical shock waves at the fleeing boy. However, Yu soon found himself cornered as Yuki bore down on him. He hesitantly raised his sword and prepared for the worse, only for Yuki to slip on the pool of drying blood they had left over from their last quarrel. As the Light of Courage struggled to her feet, Yu took the opportunity to run past her and rejoin his sister.

As Kana repelled another series of sword strikes from her father, Yu shook his head. _“You know what...I’ve got an idea. As much as I hate this idea myself...it might be the only way we can get past this situation.”_

Kana blocked another lightning bolt and nodded. _“Please tell me, then. I’m willing to do anything to end this…”_

_“Well, it seems that mom and dad have had their beliefs twisted, as well. They’ve always loved and protected us, but right now they don’t think we’re strong enough to take on our enemies. And with the way they’re being controlled, they’re trying to use violence to stop us - they’d likely even try to...kill us, if they had to.”_

Kana shuddered at his last words. _“And?”_

Yu sighed. _“Last time, we broke Mitama and Hibiki free by disproving their twisted beliefs. This time, it’s likely the same. So, in order to free mom and dad, I think we have to prove how strong we are. We’ve got to fight them head-on.”_

 _“W-what?”_ Kana stammered mentally. _“We’ve got to...fight them?”_

Yu dodged another sword strike and leapt aside, using his magic to drag Kana with him. _“I know...I don’t like this either. But if it has even the smallest chance of saving them...I am ready to do this. Are you?”_

Kana opened her mouth, then closed it as her eyes filled with courage. _“...I understand. I...I am ready.”_

So, as the Radiant Swords brandished their glowing blades, the Nebulous Angels lifted their own weapons, which began crackling with magical lightning. Their wings fluttered and glimmered as their eyes lit up with blue light.

“I’m really sorry about this.” Yu muttered. “But this is something we must do. We will prove to you that we’re stronger than you think, and to do that we must fight. If it’s to save our parents, whom we love so much, then we’ll do anything!”

“Mom...dad...I hope you can forgive us.” Kana whispered. “But we want you to come back to us. And if we have to fight you to do that...I guess that’s what we’ll have to do. But we _will_ save you, I swear it!”

And with that, the children yelled as they charged. They were scared and nervous, but above all they were determined.

 

Ken met his son’s first strike with his own blade, the metallic clang reverberating through the air. Yu entered a defensive stance as Ken raised his sword again and slashed, locking blades with his son. Ken twisted his blade to try and dislodge Yu’s smaller sword, only for Yu to leap backwards and take to the skies with his indigo wings. Raising his blade, he bolted out numerous spears of cerulean energy, which Ken either slashed out of the air or blocked with his barrier.

Yuki ran up to her husband and pointed her sword at the floating Yu. With a flash, she sent tendrils of flame searing through the air, which Yu nimbly avoided. However, the snaking streaks changed direction to chase him, and Yu quickly found himself flying for his life.

Kana yelled as she leapt at Yuki, striking her blade hard enough to embed it into the floor. Yuki yanked the blade out instantly, but the tendrils of flame had stopped chasing Yu and exploded. Now that the magical flares were no longer chasing him, Yu tucked in his wings and went in for a steep dive.

Yuki barely had time to raise her sword in response before Yu pointed his sword forwards and slammed into her. While Yuki managed to block the blade’s point with her own sword, the impact sent her flying.

Ken caught the falling Yuki and helped her to her feet, before seemingly checking if she was okay. Upon seeing this, the Nebulous Angels involuntarily smiled to themselves. Even in their murderous brainwashed state, their parents were as sweet as ever.

Ken magically launched himself at them as Yu braced himself, the blow sending the two of them skidding into a wall. As Yu felt his back against the wall, Ken hauled back and stabbed, his glowing blade impaling itself into the wall mere centimeters away from Yu’s head. As molten slag hissed next to his ear, Yu stopped himself from screaming as he leapt to the side, firing off a number of azure spears. However, Ken yanked his weapon out of the wall before slashing the spears out of the air.

Kana ducked and blocked wildly as Yuki bore down on her with a series of rapid slashes that kept her on her toes. Leaping backwards, Kana fired off a wave of homing sickles which struck Yuki’s barrier and exploded, causing the weakened shield to flicker.

However, the four of them soon tired of these individual fights and ended up just running at each other, engaging in a close-quarters brawl. Kana and Yu hacked and slashed wildly as their brainwashed parents did the same, their fierce attacks sending thunderbolts of magical power streaking all over the hall. All of their barriers had been broken, and the fighters began to take unmitigated hits. Yu and Kana grit their teeth as they endured their small but accumulating slash wounds, while Ken and Yuki simply powered forward despite also receiving similar injuries.

Yu and Kana pushed forward without hesitation. Every desire in their minds had been pushed aside for a single goal - _prove their strength_. If they weren’t fighting hard enough to prove themselves to their brainwashed parents and break those villains’ control over them, then they would just have to push themselves harder and double their efforts. And if that didn’t work...well, they would push themselves until they had nothing left to give. It was only fair - their parents would do the same.

And if there was one advantage they had...evidently, the two people they were fighting _weren’t their parents._ Because if Yu and Kana knew anything about their parents, they were _far_ stronger than their current opponents. Apparently whatever those villains had did to the Radiant Swords had also sapped their combat abilities - if they had been at full power, Yu and Kana would have been dead long before now.

Slowly but surely, both sides began to tire. And slowly but surely, the Radiant Swords began to falter. Somewhere in their minds, buried under layers of foggy confusion, some thoughts began to surface. First came the belief that their children might actually be strong enough to help defeat the Durand brothers. Then came the question of why they were even fighting their children in the first place. Then…

Yu and Kana gasped in surprise as the Radiant Swords fell to their knees. Two swords, still sizzling with magical energy, clattered to the ground in unison. As their parents collapsed, the Nebulous Angels instantly sheathed their swords and caught them, completely disregarding the fact that they could still be in danger.

“Mom? Dad? Are you okay?” Kana asked pleadingly.

“Can you hear us? Do you remember us? Please say yes…” Yu implored.

Slowly, the Radiant Swords opened their eyes. The dull pools of deep blue sparked and seemed to reignite, gradually becoming brighter. Ken groaned and looked around in confusion, only for his eyes to settle on his children. “Yu? Kana? Ah...you’re here. I thought that I would never get to see you again…”

As smiles of unbelievable relief began creeping onto the siblings’ faces, Yuki shook her head. “It was like a nightmare. I could see everything that was going on, but I couldn’t stop. It was like invisible wires were attached to every muscle in my body, making me do things I didn’t want to do. All I could do was pray for something to end it...and you two did it. Thank you. I’m so, so proud of you.”

“We owe you our lives, kids.” Ken told them. “Thank you so much.”

The Nebulous Angels were overwhelmed with a tempest of emotions. Their gleeful smiles quickly turned into expressions of shock. Then, their faces scrunched up as they desperately tried to hold back tears. That, however, failed almost instantly - before long, both children were bawling hysterically as their parents wrapped them in a well-deserved, comfortingly warm hug.

“W-we were so scared!” Yu sniveled, burying his face in his father’s shoulder. “We were so nervous when we had to fight and sneak our way here, but then Jacques brainwashed our friends and they tried to kill us, but we managed to snap them out of it! But then we had to fight you two...I could barely handle it...”

“We’re sorry!” Kana sniffed. “We had no choice. We had to fight you two head-on, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to bring you back. Can you forgive us?”

“Oh, children…” Yuki whispered tearfully. “You don’t need to ask for our forgiveness. If anything, we should be proud of you for doing what was necessary. But it’s going to be okay now. There’s no need to cry anymore.”

Ken nodded. “We should be the ones apologizing to you. We were reckless to go on that rescue mission by ourselves...we should not have underestimated our foes. And of course, we should not have left you two alone. We’re sorry.”

“It’s okay...we’re together now…” Kana muttered happily, hugging her parents tighter. “Now, we can take on our enemies together...friends and family...together...”

“Hah...hah…” Yu breathed slowly. “Nobody will stop us now…”

Ken and Yuki, as optimistic as they were, didn’t fully believe that was the case. Nevertheless, their kids’ naive optimism moved them. They said nothing, only hugging their kids tighter as if to never let them go.

Yu and Kana sniffled as they dried their tears. However, they soon became aware of a golden light enveloping all of them, warming them to the bone. Yu looked around in surprise as he felt his injuries heal and his body revitalize - judging from the looks of it, the other three were being healed as well. Kana turned around to see Jacques floating in the air, his gauntlet raised and pulsing with shining radiance. His eyes, although incapable of showing real emotion, still regarded the children with utmost respect.

“Excellent. Very good.” Jacques said slowly, lowering his hand. “You have exceeded my expectations - and earned my admiration. What you two children have done is nothing short of incredible. With such courage and kindness coexisting within you, it is no surprise that you are the children of such great heroes. This was a wondrous experience that I quite frankly do not deserve to have witnessed.”

Before anyone else could do anything, Jacques snapped his fingers. In a flash, Sophia, Mitama, and Hibiki materialized next to the Nebulous Angels, the tired Nanos collapsing in a heap. “You have broken our control over these remarkable individuals, and saved them. For this achievement, I am more than willing to grant them their freedom.”

Despite everything Jacques had just put them through, the Nebulous Angels still felt the instinct to give him a small bow. “Thank you.”

“As polite as ever, huh?” Jacques mused. “This species is truly something. I was right to take so many notes. And although I am in no position to ask you for anything more, there is one last thing I must do.”

With a wave of his gauntlet, everyone except Yu, Kana, and himself was swept to the edges of the room. Another snap of his fingers, and a golden dome materialized over his captives. Realizing what Jacques intended to do, Yu and Kana drew their swords as Jacques floated gently to the ground, his wings shimmering with light.

The Nebulous Angels’ wings glimmered with celestial brilliance as their swords began to spark. In response, Jacques raised his gauntlet, its gemstone shining like a newborn star. A heated aura enveloped him as a fireball blazed to life in his right palm.

“I thank you sincerely for participating in my experiment. However, I am still your enemy - and as your enemy, I cannot allow you to get any further. I have one last last test for you - and this time, I will be your opponent. En garde.”


	7. Conquest 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter felt like it took a lot longer than it actually took me.

Yu yelped as the lance of light struck him squarely in the stomach, sending him tumbling across the metal floor. His shield had mitigated almost all of of the actual damage, but he had still felt most of the shock - which explained why he felt like a vice was gripping his insides. Hovering about ten meters away, Kana shouted in alarm, only to swerve aside as countless rays of golden light rained down on her location in an attempt to shish-kebab her.

From the edges of the room, Ken and Yuki futilely hacked at the glowing dome keeping them locked out of the fight. But even though the Radiant Swords and their friends had tried, the fact remained that they simply didn’t have enough strength to break through that barrier of energy. Their recent mind-control shenanigans had left them drained and massively fatigued, to the point where Mitama of all people could barely bring herself to raise her sword.

The Radiant Swords looked on in helpless anxiety as Jacques advanced on their children, a golden aura of flame enveloping his armor. All they could do now was believe in their wonderful children, and trust that they were strong enough to handle this foe.

_ You can do this. We have total faith in you. _

Neither Yu or Kana heard this message, obviously. As Yu groaned and staggered to his feet, Jacques raised his lance and hurled it at his head. Dazed as he was, Yu still managed to slash the glowing weapon out of the air before it could impale him, the shards of the magic construct flying everywhere. Just as Jacques raised his hand and created another one, Kana launched herself at him and slammed into the winged warrior at top speed.

The two of them crashed into the wall hard enough to dent it. Eyes blazing with the righteous fury of a newborn star, Kana raised her sword and thrust it at Jacques’ head, only for its tip to strike a glowing shield instead of his golden armor. As thin as it was, the layer of flickering magic encapsulating Jacques’ body made his defenses stronger than any armor. And judging from the magical lightning arcing off of it, the shield was incredibly strong, as well. It was going to take a lot of effort to break it.

Kana pushed harder, her katana sparking as it struggled to power through Jacques’ barrier. Just as she started worrying that her blade was going to snap under the strain, Jacques reached out and grabbed her blade with his hands. Kana yelped in alarm as the golden robot slammed her into the wall, before hurling her into the ground. She struck the floor hard and tumbled to a halt, her barrier flickering as it sustained damage.

Jacques eyes shone with a challenging light. “You’re going to have to try a bit harder than that. Give your all!”

Kana wasted no time getting to her feet, noting the trickle of blood coming from her nose. However, Jacques immediately tucked in his wings and dived straight at her, another spear appearing in his hands. In response, Yu ran up to his sister and spread his wings, launching himself at the incoming warrior. The two of them clashed in midair, sending a crackling shock wave tearing through the air.

Both of them tumbled to the ground, but Yu immediately lunged at his grounded enemy. While his stab failed to penetrate Jacques’ shield, it was powerful enough to send the heavier machine sliding several meters backwards. In response, Jacques raised his gauntlet, its crystal flashing orange as he hurled an arcane meteor at his enemy. Yu raised his sword and shot out several blasts of energy, which struck the fireball and detonated it in midair. However, once the flames cleared, Jacques leapt straight at him and slashed downwards. Yu blocked the strike, the raw power of the attack forcing him to one knee as he struggled.

Normally, a Nano’s magically-augmented strength would easily be able to overpower mechanical power - even if said Nano was a child like Yu. However, Jacques was different - he was the absurdly powerful fusion of mechanical strength, arcane power, and a human mind. He was more powerful than either of them, for sure. But whether he was more powerful than  _ both _ of them was the real question.

Yu pulled out of the blade lock just as Jacques pushed harder, making him lose his balance. Seizing the chance, Yu quickly swung at his leg, sending the warrior toppling over. Wasting no time, Yu raised his sword, charged it with magic, and unleashed a vicious downwards slash, the attack creating hairline fractures in Jacques barrier. Yu slashed again and again, each strike causing the golden barrier to shudder and flicker more, but he failed to notice as Jacques kicked out his leg, knocking him onto his back. The gilded warrior quickly got up, grabbed him by the ankle, and swung him over his head like a sack of potatoes before smashing him into the ground. The impact nearly knocked Yu out cold as he silently wondered how much more his barrier could handle.

Just as Jacques raised his spear to impale the boy, he was cut off by a barrage of violet lightning cast from Kana’s katana. The bolts were deflected by his barrier, but the ensuing explosions still convinced him that the attack was dealing damage. However, Jacques decided that it’d be more worth it to just tank the attacks and end Yu while he had the chance. So, he powered through the blasts and raised his lance again.

Kana realized what was happening and dived at Jacques in desperation. Just as he was about to skewer her brother, Kana slammed into him blade-first and plowed him into the nearby wall. As Jacques was momentarily stunned, Kana raised her blade and unleashed a flurry of slashes, the blur of flashing metal taking countless bites into Jacques’ barrier.

Jacques retaliated with a burst of black lightning, which caused Kana to falter. During this opening, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the wall, causing her to instinctively gag despite her shield protecting her throat from the pressure. Without so much as a delay, Jacques took to the skies, leaving a trail of sparks in his wake as he dragged Kana against the wall, grinding away at her shield.

For a second, he felt a pang of guilt. However, he had made the choice to become a villain, both for his brother’s sake and for the sake of his own curiosity. Now that he had made that choice, he had to be fully responsible for it. No regrets.

Kana struggled, her wings flapping frantically and her blade swinging wildly, but she could feel the growing pressure on her windpipe. However, Yu was there for his sister, flying from under Jacques and slashing upwards. The golden machine went flying into the ceiling with a crash, only for Yu to immediately soar upwards and ram him head-on with his charged sword. As Jacques’ barrier cracked a little bit more, Yu grabbed the robot by his wrist and hurled him into the ground.

As Jacques struggled to his feet, Kana flew in and hovered next to her brother.  _ “How’re you doing?” _

Yu shook his head.  _ “He’s strong. Not 100% sure if we can keep this up for much longer - I’m already getting kind of tired. How about we use that combat tip that mom and dad told us about? You know, the one where you identify the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses?” _

_ “Uh, sure.”  _ Kana said mentally as she shrugged. “ _ Strengths: quite fast, incredibly powerful, has a magic barrier that refuses to be destroyed for some reason...” _

_ “That’s the easy part. Now, how about weaknesses?” _

Kana shrugged again as Jacques took to the air once more, an orb of lightning crackling in his palm.  _ “I guess he’s slower than us?” _

_ “Hey, that’s a start!” _

This, however, didn’t get very far. Jacques raised his hands, and numerous orbs of pale green light shimmered into existence behind him. With a wave of his hands, the orbs unleashed laser beams in every direction, which swept the area and left burning streaks in the walls. Yu and Kana swerved to avoid them before raising their own swords, firing back with twin rays of indigo light. The beams struck the flying warrior and exploded, sending him hurtling backwards. However, he quickly retaliated with his own shower of golden rays, which seared through the air and struck the Nebulous Angels’ barriers. The kids grit their teeth, but powered through it as they drew their swords and hurtled towards their foe. Jacques raised his lance and met their combined strike, sending a shock wave reverberating through the room.

Yu slashed horizontally, prompting Jacques to drop down a bit to avoid the attack. Kana immediately followed up on her brother’s attack, getting in Jacques’ face and striking him with a fierce diagonal slash which cracked his barrier a little. The golden warrior swung his lance in a wide arc, forcing Kana to block the strike with her katana. As Kana strained against Jacques and his magical lance, Yu flew behind Jacques and stabbed at him, his blade leaving a small indentation in Jacques’ barrier.

Just as Jacques turned around to slash at his new attacker, he was suddenly struck by a glowing arrow of light, which forced him to make a hasty landing. As all three fighters looked around in surprise, the air behind them shimmered. In a flash of light, Xander and Melody stood before them, their weapons drawn and magic auras shining.

“Hey there, kids!” Xander called. “Sorry we’re late. There was a rather large robot guarding that room, and we had to take care of it first.”

“But now we’re here to help!” Melody told them confidently. “We took the big guy down, demolished all of the spare bodies, and razed the factory. And since we see that you’ve gotten into a bit of a fight, we’re gonna help you!”

Jacques, however, seemed a bit stunned. “You did  _ what? _ ”

Xander pointed accusingly at him. “Yeah, we kind of found your stupid stash of spare bodies. That’s how you lot have kept cheating death, right? Well, know that we’ve laid waste to the place - no more extra lives for you!”

Jacques glared at them with his red eyes. Then, to their surprise, he laughed. “Ah...so it finally happened. Well done. It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out.”

“That’s...not what I was expecting.” Yu blurted out. “Aren’t you mad that you can actually be killed now?”

“Mad? No, I’m only annoyed at worst.” Jacques told him. “There’s no point in being a villain if you can’t be defeated. You’ve got to make it so you can be beaten - but only if your opponents can figure out how. So now, you’ve figured out how. And now, I can be beaten.”

“Eh, whatever.” Kana told him, raising her sword. “It’s a shame. You seem polite and all, but you’ve still caused too much damage to this world. We’re still going to defeat you, for the sake of everyone who lives on Territe!”

Jacques hefted his lance. “That’s the spirit. Come! Fight!”

So without further ado, the Nebulous Angels yelled and charged at their foe, blades raised and shining with radiance. Jacques raised his lance and swung at them, meeting their combined slash. The three fighters jumped back and forth, slashing and blocking with incredible speed as they engaged in a dance of death with one another.

Meanwhile, Xander growled impatiently as he tried to line up a shot. Melody raised her harp and let out a pulse of crimson energy, which invigorated her allies with a furious strength. It seemed that she really didn’t want to waste any time, since she hadn’t even bothered to sing anything along with her magic boost.

Empowered by the bard, the Nebulous Angels began pushing Jacques backwards with a flurry of strikes. The storm of flashing steel chipped away at Jacques’ faltering barrier, the force of the onslaught causing him to slowly slide backwards. Once they had backed him against a wall, however, Jacques suddenly became overcome with a desperate fervor. Lashing out with his spear, he struck Kana in the gut and sent her flying, her barrier falling to pieces as she slammed into the floor. Yu yelped in concern, only for Jacques to step forward and swing upwards, launching him several meters into the air. As he fell, Jacques clenched his gauntlet and punched, sending him flying into his sister. The two children tumbled across the floor before skidding to a halt, thoroughly bruised and battered.

Jacques advanced on the kids, only to be struck by another glowing arrow. His sister standing at his side, Xander unleashed volley after volley of arrows, the magical projectiles exploding on impact with Jacques’ weakening barrier. Melody added her own attacks, showering Jacques in a hailstorm of magical shards.

Jacques powered through the magical barrage and yelled, punching the ground with his gauntlet. Instantly, glowing orange fissures spread out from the point of impact, snaking all over the floor as fiery tendrils of energy erupted from them. Melody yelped and leapt from foothold to foothold, trying to avoid all of the arcane discharges. Meanwhile, Xander shot arrows at his enemy, only for several fissures to converge on him and erupt into a massive pillar of flame. Melody shouted her brother’s name, only for Xander to burst out of the molten geyser mere seconds later, his shield hissing and cracked. Yelling in defiance, he brandished his bow, willing its blades to glow bright cerulean. Noticing this, Jacques raised his lance and launched himself straight at the archer.

Jacques, however, had made a miscalculation. He had been expecting Xander to have physical power equal to that of Yu, the older and more physically-inclined of the Nebulous Angels. What he failed to realize in time was that as powerful as the Nebulous Angels were for kids their age, they were still kids. Xander was a good 19 years older than Yu - and as such, his physical strength was quite a bit stronger.

As Jacques raised his spear and slashed downwards, Xander sidestepped before slashing at the magical lance - shattering it instantly. Jacques backed up in surprise as Xander bore down on him with a flurry of slashes. Against such power, his severely weakened barrier only lasted seconds before being cut to ribbons.

As if on cue, the Nebulous Angels soared in, hurt but nowhere near down. Each of them slammed into one of Jacques’ wings, their glowing blades tearing them clean off. Jacques raised his lance and began to defend himself, but the Nebulous Angels quickly became whirlwinds of flashing steel as they attacked relentlessly, pushing Jacques beyond his limits now that his shield was gone. To make matters worse for the golden warrior, Melody shone with a verdant aura, granting the two children a calm resolve which allowed them to land hits even more consistently.

Now that his shield was down, Kana was eager to try something. Ken, having designed the brothers’ gauntlets, had told her about their design - and she had also noticed how Jacques’ gauntlet crystal glowed each time he used magic. So, now that said crystal was unprotected, Kana lunged at it, her blade shattering it instantly. Almost immediately, Jacques’ golden aura seemed to dim as he staggered away. The lance in his hands flickered and became translucent, allowing Yu to easily shatter it with his next strike.

“Nice job, sis!” Yu exclaimed. “Now we can-”

He was cut off by Jacques’ sudden uppercut, which struck him squarely in the chin and sent him tumbling across the floor. As the remains of his shielding disintegrated, he groaned and wiped a drop of blood from his mouth. Jacques had raised his fists and narrowed his eyes in defiance - it was clear that he was weakened, but not out.

Despite the situation, the four of them silently commended him for his determination.

The rest of the fight was over in mere moments. Despite Jacques’ metal body giving him great strength, the four Nanos had both weapons and magic on their side. With all of the heavy damage he sustained in the next minute, it was only a matter of time before Yu and Kana simultaneously rammed their katanas through his torso, impaling him.

Jacques gasped as the Nebulous Angels pulled their weapons out of his body, sparks and residual magic arcing out of the gaping wound in his stomach. He managed to stagger back and lean against a wall before collapsing on his knees.

With an ethereal shimmering sound, the magic sphere holding their friends and family dissolved. Ken and Yuki wasted no time running up to their battered children, hugging them tightly and praising them. Melody and Xander, while not as close to these Nanos, still had a heartwarming reunion with them.

After the reunion ended, the group looked at Jacques. The golden warrior had collapsed in a smoking heap, evidently too damaged to stand or even move. Even after everything he had done, the Nanos couldn’t help but notice how pitiful of a state he was in.

“Hah...hah…” Jacques breathed. “Excellent...wonderful. You have proven your strength, and your world has given me more wonderful experiences than I deserve. Now...well, I’ve been defeated. You can go on and defeat us. Now, end me, once and for all. It is only right. I...have done so much to you.”

In response, Mitama stepped forward. “Well, before we do anything, I’d at least like to know some of your motivations. Why the hell did you even start this invasion? You two seemed pretty friendly to begin with…”

In response, Jacques went for the simple route and told the truth. He simply poured out everything about what he and his brother had been doing, and about their true natures. It only took him a minute, but the Nanos were pale with shock afterwards.

“...Unbelievable.” Mitama muttered. “That humanity would try and toy with us further…”

Yuki shook her heads. “I thought we had heard the last from the people of Earth...apparently we were wrong.”

Jacques groaned as another spark burst forth from his ruined armor. “There is nothing I can say that will redeem what I’ve done. And while I take full responsibility for it...I’m afraid nothing you do to this body will affect my real self - so I  _ can’t _ atone for what I’ve done. I suppose you can destroy me here, at least.”

The golden robot watched as the Nanos held what seemed to be a telepathic discussion. Then, to his surprise, they put away their weapons.

“Hibiki here has made a fair point.” Sophia told him. “No matter what a person has done, they are still redeemable. So, although you have done some terrible things, we have no reason to kill you. We may allow you to continue living on this planet. Perhaps after some time has passed, and maybe after a bit of rehabilitation, we can reintroduce you back into society. I’m sure the others will forgive you eventually - as your kind wrote in their textbooks, it is in our natures.”

Jacques was stunned. “You would really…”

“Yeah!” Hibiki told him, giving him a thumbs-up. “Remember what I said? There isn’t a single truly evil person that exists. That includes you, too! Since you want to atone for what you’ve done, we can forgive you and help you with that. And then, you can keep living with us - as a good friend, like you were before!”

Jacques could do nothing but lean against the wall in surprise. “You...I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again...your species is really something.”

He looked around. “As I am now, I don’t pose a threat to you. My magic is gone and I can’t even move. So, leave me here. Go on and defeat my brother - he is likely back on Territe, so you must take a teleporter there. Then, if your opinion is still the same, you may come back and get me.”

The Nanos simply nodded and turned to leave. However, Jacques remembered something and called out to them. “Yu? Kana?”

The two children turned towards him.

They couldn’t see it, but Jacques had a smile of admiration on his face. “For kids your age, you two are incredibly strong. You’ve duly impressed me - not just because of your fighting skills, but because of your spirits. You handled everything I did remarkably well - and of course, you defeated me. All I can say now is...well, thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet such strong individuals. Best of luck.”

The Nebulous Angels were a bit surprised that the foe that they had just defeated was now giving them so much praise. Although they wouldn’t soon forget what Jacques had did to them and their allies, they at least appreciated his attitude.

So, the two kids stopped and bowed to him. It was only right.

 

Louis watched through his drones’ camera feeds as his army was slaughtered. Robots were being scrapped left and right, and most of his Admirals had been blasted into slag or otherwise obliterated. The only fully active Admiral right now was Xavier, but even his extreme regenerative abilities were faltering.

To Louis, however, this was perfectly fine. His army’s defeat simply proved how strong the forces of Territe were - and now, once they plowed through the remnants of the robotic defenders, they could directly battle him. However, he had no idea why none of his Admirals had bothered returning to battle yet. Perhaps they were all busy?”

So, since he had nothing better to do, he contacted Jacques. “Hey, Jacques?”

No response.

Louis tapped his headpiece and tried again. “Brother?”

Again, no response.

Louis immediately knew something was up. Jacques always responded immediately whenever Louis contacted him. Surely Jacques was extremely busy with those tests that he was performing, otherwise he would have long since replied.  _ And that, _ Louis thought,  _ is why I should go and help him out. _

So, with a snap of his fingers, Louis warped to the room where Jacques had last been heard from. Louis knew that he had last been performing a couple of tests - or was it building his bed again? He had forgotten.

However, what he did not expect was to suddenly find himself face-to-face with nine familiar faces.

“Gah!” Yuki yelped as the group stepped back. “Where did you come from?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” Louis protested. He thought that at least five of them had been captured and brainwashed into submission. And where did the other four come from?

Louis’ eyes scanned the room. There had evidently been a fight, since the room was scarred with countless burns and slash marks. And leaning against the wall was none other than Jacques’ avatar, reduced to a smoldering heap of metal.

“J-Jacques?” Louis stammered. “What happened to you?”

Jacques could only shake his head.

Yu glared at the black knight looming over them. “You two had some nerve, trying to turn our friends against us like that! Well, that’s all in the past now. Oh, and as for your brother, he tried to fight us, so we defeated him!”

“You...defeated him?” Louis asked incredulously. “My brother is a perfect example of a warrior! How did you beat him?”

“Louis...they’re pretty damn strong.” Jacques muttered.

Back on Earth, Louis grit his teeth. However, his avatar remained composed. “Well, he’ll be back eventually, but it seems I’ve got to avenge him for now. I won’t let you get away with beating up my big brother just yet! Prepare yourselves!”

To his surprise, Xander laughed. “Oh, about that? We also demolished all of your spare bodies. So, he’s not coming back - and neither are you.”

Louis was stunned. “W-what? You...”

His mind was overwhelmed with swirling thoughts. So his trump card had been foiled? If so, then his plans had all but fallen apart. He had no more second chances - this might actually be the end of his stay on this planet.

Sophia tilted her head. “It must have been nice, being immortal. However, if there’s one thing an immortal fears, it’s death. Even if you won’t truly die once that body of yours does...the situation is still quite similar.”

Deep inside Louis, a burning desperation began to surface. He needed to end this here, otherwise he might get permanently evicted from the planet. He wouldn’t get another chance to visit a fantasy world like this.

“You…” he growled. “I don’t know how you did this, but I’m going to make sure you pay for it. If this is my last chance at life on this planet, then I’m sure as hell going to give this my all!”

With that, Louis stomped on the ground, enveloping the room in a magic field. In a flash, the group found themselves warped to a strange location that was seemingly on Territe - judging from the silver moon in the pitch-black sky. They were standing in a field of tall, dry grass, with inexplicable streams of lava flowing around them. Behind them stood Louis’ castle - evidently, they were somewhere near his lava moat. Dark clouds hovered in the sky as the wind howled menacingly, carrying with it the scent of ash and fire.

Louis raised his hands as lava erupted from around them, creating an arena of sorts. As he tapped into his full magical potential, tendrils of black lightning began arcing off of him as dark energy radiated from his armor. As his opponents drew their weapons and stood firm, his gauntlet crystal blazed with crimson radiance as a massive blade of prismatic magic appeared in his hands.

“The brave heroes have finally confronted the nefarious villain. The final battle is about to begin.” Louis said, talking to nobody in particular. “Now, come. Give your all. I am the last obstacle in your path - and I’m not about to go down without one last fight.”

The nine Nanos stood at the ready, weapons crackling.

Louis raised his sword. “Here I come!”

And with that, the two sides ran at each other, magic permeating the air.

The final battle for Territe had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing consecutive fight scenes for idk how long was a lot harder than I thought. I suppose the ability to write this kind of stuff can only improve through practice. I'll get there...maybe. This is the semi-final major fight, though.


	8. Conquest 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this instead of studying. May or may not live to regret that.

Yu yelped and put up a shield as Louis’ armored fist slammed into him, sending him tumbling across the grassy terrain. Nearby, his sister Kana yelped in alarm and moved in to help, only for Louis to swing his sword at her as well. The strike cleaved through her barrier in a single stroke, the shock wave sending her flying into the dirt.

While Ken and Yuki ran over to tend to their kids, Xander grit his teeth as Melody landed beside him, firing off several glimmering rays that bounced off of Louis’ magical shielding. Xander raised his bow and fired off a barrage of arrows, topping the bombardment off with a huge bolt that may as well have been a magical ballista round. The arrows pinged off of Louis’ shield, but the bolt that followed exploded and knocked him back a bit.

As Xander raised his bow again, Louis raised his hand. Instantly, a shotgun-like blast of dark lightning shot out of his hand, striking the twins almost instantly. Their barriers held strong, but the blast produced by the attack shredded the surrounding grass and nearly bowled both of them over.

They had been fighting their final foe for a good ten minutes now, and the nine heroes were already wondering if they had made some kind of mistake. They had to admit that Louis was an ingenious individual, having fused magic and technology to create such a powerful body for himself. While his heavily armored frame was quite slow, it possessed absolutely insane amounts of magical power. Each of his attacks were obscenely destructive, and the dark aura that encased his whole body violently reflected almost everything they threw at it.

Melody raised her harp, willing all but the last string to vanish. She pulled on said string as several arrows materialized before her. Using her harp as a makeshift bow, she bolted out the arrows, which did little against Louis’ barrier.

However, what she did do was make both Louis and her brother stare at her in disbelief.  _ What? Is a musical instrument being used as a bow the strangest thing they’ve seen? _

Both of them, however, got over it. Louis raised his hand again, creating his glowing sword once more. In a single bound, he leapt at Xander, who jumped aside as the onyx knight’s attack seemed to tear through the very space he had been standing in. Xander lunged and slashed with his bow, only for Louis’ shield to release a retaliatory burst of force that sent him flying. Melody cried out in alarm and fired off a wave of turquoise tendrils, which wrapped around Louis in an attempt to restrain him. Louis struggled for all of two seconds before tearing the bonds apart. Lowering his sword and lunging, his strike sent Melody tumbling across the ground, her barrier falling to pieces.

Louis hefted his sword and advanced, only to be struck by a blur of silver. In a lightning-quick motion, Mitama dashed at him, striking him with a rapid series of slashes. Each of her attacks shredded the dry grass around them and chipped away at Louis’ barrier, prompting him to jump back and enter a defensive stance.

Mitama raised her sword and slowly advanced on him, preparing for anything. Louis was an entity capable of thought, after all - judging from how careful he was being now, he had learned a thing or two from their last quarrel.

Meanwhile, Louis’ mind was elsewhere. Sure, he wanted to stay on this planet, and was willing to fight for that. But more than that, in case this was indeed his final hour on Territe, he wanted to let loose a bit instead of going straight for victory. He was curious to see exactly how far he could push the laws of this reality - how well his magic could bring his imagination to life. He wanted to try and be as creative as possible with his attacks.

Mitama thrust her sword in front of her, unleashing a fierce lance of pale light. Louis blocked the attack with his sword and raised his hand, causing numerous earthen spires to erupt from the ground around Mitama. The silver swordfighter deftly leapt from pillar to pillar, before leaping at Louis and striking him with a slash so violent that it sent him skidding back a meter or so. Louis retaliated with a furious wave of white-hot flames, which Mitama barely managed to block with her shield.

Louis hefted his sword to attack again, only for a titanic pillar of lightning to strike him from the heavens. The attack enveloped him in a blaze of light, the heat of the bolt blasting the surrounding dirt into glass. Standing some distance away, Hibiki’s face was beaded with sweat as she raised her glowing wand again - although nobody could be certain if her perspiration was from effort or the burning surroundings. With a wave of her hand, she sent several more lances of lightning crashing down on Louis, repeatedly deepening the glass crater she had created.

With a roar of defiance, a smoldering Louis clawed his way out of the barrage. Snapping his fingers, Louis warped within melee range of Hibiki and raised his sword to strike her down. As the now-helpless mage yelped in alarm, Mitama shoved her aside and blocked the slash, the power of the knight’s swing nearly breaking her legs. However, Louis immediately followed up with a horizontal slash that knocked her to the side.

Hibiki pointed her wand again, unleashing a concentrated burst of wintry-blue energy. The attack struck Louis’ shield and visibly drove a dent into it, which prompted him to retaliate with a tsunami of volcanic fire. However, Sophia leapt in front of the younger mage, deploying a shield which blocked the flaming tide. Raising her sword in retaliation, Sophia let off several blazing shots from her rail cannon, which Louis tried and failed to cut out of the air. The attacks bit into his barrier as he grunted in annoyance. Apparently even with magic, his dexterity still needed work.

Raising her sword again, Sophia repeatedly slashed the air, sending numerous sword beams streaking towards her foe. In response, Louis charged straight at her, blocking them with his sword or deflecting them with blasts of his own. Sophia raised her sword and slashed as Louis bore down on her with an overhead swing of his own, meeting her strike in a blade lock. While the black knight’s magically-enhanced, mechanical strength made Sophia feel like her arms were caught in a trash compactor, she managed to pull aside and strike Louis several times. As Melody and Xander rushed in to help again, Louis charged up his magic and unleashed a pulse of force, blasting all of them backwards. Hibiki cast another brilliant comet that enveloped him in an explosion, only for Louis to clench his fist and crystallize what little water vapor remained in the air. Shards of ice formed out of nowhere, surrounding Hibiki and rocketing towards her. She managed to avoid or block most of them, but she grit her teeth as one sailed past her defenses and pierced her shield, digging into her arm.

Mitama yelled in anger as she lunged yet again. Louis retaliated by punching the ground, turning the solid earth beneath her feet into loose sand. As Mitama lost her balance, Louis leapt at her with his sword raised. Melody wrapped a glowing chain around her ankle and yanked her aside, just as Louis cleaved the space she had been standing in. However, as Melody attempted to leap away, Louis willed the dirt to coalesce into solid tendrils that snagged on her leg, causing her to trip and fall face-first into the ground.

Melody was struggling to her knees, wiping blood from her nose, when Louis snapped his fingers, instantly sending a wave of glowing swords hurtling towards her. Hibiki moved in and intercepted the attacks as Sophia unleashed a blast of slicing wind, which was blocked with a well-timed sword swing. Louis growled in mild frustration again as he unleashed an electrifying maelstrom, blowing both of them back. Sophia dug her sword into the ground for support, while Hibiki flinched in pain as the storm shattered the ice shard embedded in her arm.

Melody grit her teeth and sent a telepathic message.  _ “This isn’t working.” _

_ “Tell me about it.” _ Sophia replied.  _ “His magical power is incredible. I’m not sure if we’ll even be able to destroy his shield with our attacks. However, I do have an idea.” _

_ “Urk...well, tell us!”  _ Hibiki said.  _ “Or we aren’t going to last much longer.” _

Sophia blocked another stray bolt of lightning as Mitama and Xander engaged their foe again.  _ “Against raw power, I’m afraid his barrier seems virtually impregnable - or at least, impregnable if we want to do this in a timely manner, which we have to. However, the last time I heard from my father, he was developing a special application of magic - one specifically optimized to nullify other magic. Those brothers had already used it a couple times on us, if you recall.” _

_ “Yeah.”  _ Melody replied.  _ “I remember something like that.” _

_ “So, what I’m suggesting is that we use that on him.” _ Sophia told them matter-of-factly.  _ “If we can’t overpower his shield, we can try and counteract it instead. That way, we might be able to destroy that gauntlet that serves as his primary conduit.” _

Hibiki groaned as she picked the ice shards out of her arm.  _ “Sounds good to me. Let’s tell the others.” _

Meanwhile, Mitama’s eyes widened as Louis knocked her sword aside and grabbed her by the arm. Without hesitation, he swung her into the ground hard enough to create a small crater in the scorched dirt. Dazed but not out, Mitama rolled aside as his next punch pulverized the spot her head had been in, only for Louis to simply kick her like a football instead. She skidded across the ground as Xander hacked away at Louis’ shielding, sending sparks flying everywhere. He leapt backwards to avoid Louis’ horizontal slash, firing off a wave of homing arrows which peppered the dark knight in explosions. In response, Louis raised his gauntlet and produced a burst of compressed air, which sent Xander flying - straight into the lava-filled chasm encircling them.

Xander barely had enough time to put up a heat shield, and he still felt like he had just opened a blast furnace. Gritting his teeth, he projected a solid barrier of magic under his feet, which stopped his fall right before he tumbled into the lava. As the molten rock swirled and bubbled around him, he charged up and leapt out of the chasm - only for Louis to raise his hand in response. A translucent, red construct resembling a fist appeared above Xander, and with a gesture from its creator, the mass of magic hurtled downwards.

Melody cried out in panic, reaching out to her brother with chains of magic. Xander managed to grab hold of one, and Melody pulled him onto the ledge just as the glowing fist smashed down on his last position, careening into the lava and sending a spray of molten slag splattering everywhere.

Xander just managed to turn around when Louis leapt at him and punched him, sending him tumbling across the ground again. Melody raised her harp to retaliate, only for Louis to swing his sword in a wide arc. The blade struck the bard, shattering her just-reformed barrier and knocking her to the ground.

What Louis had failed to notice, however, was that the Radiant Swords had finished tending to their children and had been sneaking around. Just as he prepared to cut Melody in half, Ken leapt at him from behind and struck him hard enough to stagger him. The dark knight’s shield let out a burst of black sparks as Ken’s blade dug into it, and the Starry Sword immediately followed up with a series of lunges which sent more sparks flying into the air.

Louis had just turned around to engage Ken in a swordfight when Yuki came from the side, striking him with a strong upwards slash that carved another shallow gash into his barrier. Grunting, the black knight raised his sword as the dark aura around him intensified. 

Ken and Yuki immediately went to work, putting their lifetime’s worth of swordfighting experience to the test as they engaged Louis in a fierce melee brawl. While the dark knight’s power had increased exponentially since their first battle, in a melee fight his technique was still similar - opting for hard hitting but slower strikes. While avoiding the magic that the dark knight was constantly discharging was a bit difficult, the blades of the Radiant Swords struck true again and again.

Yuki rolled aside as Louis swung downwards, the Light of Courage immediately counterattacking with a flurry of stabs. He retaliated with a diagonal slash, which Ken parried before counterattacking with a fierce lunge. Louis responded by stomping on the ground, creating a spiderweb of flaming fissures to radiate across the ground. Yuki used her magic to swiftly mend the unstable earth, while Ken lunged at Louis - however, this time, Louis’ barrier released a strong shock wave in response to Ken’s strike. From that retaliatory burst alone, Ken was sent hurtling across the ground like a rag doll, his barrier flashing as he smashed through a rock.

Unfortunately, Yuki didn’t have enough time to attend to her husband. Louis bore down on her with repeated strikes which she alternately avoided or blocked. Every time she struck his shield, the recoiling shock the dark barrier sent out would nearly bowl her over.

Louis raised his hand and shot out a lance-like blast of light. Yuki used her magic to redirect it into the ground, sending a shower of debris raining over them. However, Louis quickly gathered the debris with his magic before directing the storm at his foe, forcing her to frantically block and dodge for her life. Once the barrage subsided, Yuki noticed Louis raise his hands to the sky and make a pulling motion. The wind intensified as a furious rain of lightning and fire pierced through the clouds and hurtled towards them.

Yuki leapt about as elemental fury rained down all around them. She was vaguely aware of her friends dodging and weaving as well, but she had to focus.

Several lightning bolts struck near her, blasting small pits of the dirt into sand. As Yuki shot an incoming fireball out of the air, she noticed Louis getting struck by a lightning bolt which brought him down on one knee. Apparently he hadn’t thought this through - which was good for Yuki.

As Louis staggered to his feet again, Yuki shouted defiantly as she charged her blade and slammed straight into him, the magical katana managing to drive itself into his barrier. Louis backed up in surprise as Yuki pushed harder, causing hairline fractures to spread across the dark shield. However, the black knight simply narrowed his eyes and raised his fist. Yuki barely had time to register the movement before Louis struck her squarely in the chest with a brutal blow, sending her flying.

Ken managed to catch Yuki before she tumbled to her death in the lava, but he could tell that her barrier was severely damaged. He barely managed to help her to her feet before a barrage of fire rained down on them from above. Ken raised his sword and projected a shield over their head to block the bombardment, only to fall to one knee once it subsided. His magical defenses had taken a huge hit from blocking that.

As the rain of destruction finally stopped, Ken and Yuki shakily got up and held their swords in a guarding position despite their fatigue. Louis re-created his own sword, twirling it threateningly as he advanced. However, he had barely taken five steps towards the Radiant Swords before two figures leapt in front of him, blocking his path. 

Louis tilted his head as the Radiant Swords looked on in shock. Standing between them and their opponent were none other than Yu and Kana, swords raised defiantly and poised to strike,

The dark knight halted his advance. In order to fully realize his wishes, Louis had willingly suppressed his morality in order to become the fantasy villain of his imagination. Yet, in a situation like this, his morality resurfaced - if only for a bit.

“Stand down.” Louis said slowly, pointing his sword at them. “I don’t need to fight you. Retreat before you get hurt.”

“No!” Yu shouted angrily. “You’re threatening our parents, and you expect us to back down? We’ll protect them with our lives, just as they would do for us!”

“You’re strong,” Kana muttered, “but we won’t surrender. Our friends are fighting hard and giving their all, so we have no reason not to do the same!”

In reality, both of them were shaking in their boots. They had seen how powerful the towering dark knight was. But this was still something they knew they had to do. No matter their foe, they had to do their best.

Louis loomed over the siblings, a mildly regretful look in his eyes. “...Then I will have to destroy you as well. Apologies.”

With a swing of his sword, a blast of white-hot flame surged towards the siblings. Both of them yelped in unison and leapt into the air, just barely avoiding it as the heat threatened to melt their skin off. The instant they landed, Louis hauled back and swung his sword. The strike missed, but the discharge of energy it created was still enough to rip into the Nebulous Angels’ barriers.

Yu screamed with determination as he lunged at the dark knight, only for his barrier’s retaliatory shock wave to blow him back. Kana yelped in alarm, but had to focus on blocking Louis’ incoming slash - a feat that nearly shattered the bones in her arms. Yu quickly got to his feet, raising his sword once more.  _ Again! _

Another strike, another shock wave that sent him hurtling backwards. Kana desperately hacked away at Louis’ barrier, but she could tell that she wasn’t doing a lot of damage. It didn’t take a genius to deduce that this foe was out of their league.

_ But we still have to do something! _

Yu struck again, and although Louis’ shield didn’t repel him this time, his attack barely even scratched the magical armor. Kana used her wings to fly above them, casting spears of lightning at their foe, but all of them simply washed over the black knight like rain on a windshield. As Louis swung again, Yu ducked out of the way as Kana flew a bit higher. However, Louis quickly exerted his magic over the siblings again, intensifying the force of gravity around them. Kana plummeted to the ground like a stone, and Louis wasted no time swinging at her again. 

Immediately, Yu lunged in an attempt to displace the blade and stop it from killing his sister. However, Louis’ strength was too much - all he managed to do was tilt the blade so that the blunt end struck his sister instead of the sharp one.

As the massive weapon slammed down on Kana’s left leg, her eyes widened as she felt the pressure shatter every bone in her leg. Before she even had a chance to shed any tears, Louis grabbed her by her other leg and threw her. Kana flew a good twenty meters before smashing into a rock, which destroyed her barrier and instantly knocked her out cold.

Yu screamed in rage, lowering his sword and lunging again. To his surprise, Louis dissolved his sword and caught the blade with his bare hands, the weapon’s magic sparking against his own. Clenching his fist, he struck Yu with a fierce uppercut that sent him flying several meters into the air, before grabbing the boy by the neck and slamming him into the ground hard enough to crater it.

Yu gasped and sputtered, the black knight’s grip rapidly crushing his barrier and putting more pressure on his windpipe. However, before he could get his throat crushed, he vaguely heard his mother’s voice. “Stop it!”

Louis looked up at the Radiant Swords, who were burning with renewed vigor. They seemed more than ready to fight tooth and nail protecting their kids.

So, with that, he decided to hold off on killing Yu until later. But instead of doing something more sophisticated, he went for the impulsive route and just chucked Yu like a football. The boy skid along the dirt hard enough to create a miniature trench of sorts, before tumbling to a halt beside his unconscious sister. The shattered pieces of his barrier lined the path he had just carved.

As Yuki squinted at her wounded children, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them raise their heads and whimper in pain. At least they were alive. That was a start.

Ken brandished his sword, sparks literally flying from his eyes. “YOU! You dare touch our children? We’ll bury these fields with your ashes!”

Louis simply nodded indifferently and created another sword. He charged straight at his opponent, only to stop in his tracks as an ethereal light enveloped him.

“W-what?” he sputtered.

Some distance away, Sophia raised her sword, its edge glimmering with an odd bluish-purple radiance. Next to her, Hibiki, Yuki and Melody were doing the same with their own weapons. Within the next couple of seconds, a dome of indigo magic burst into existence around the black knight, which quickly began shrinking. Almost immediately, the magical field made contact with Louis’ barrier, causing it to spark and warp as it was seemingly melted.

“What is this?” Louis yelled. “My shield is-”

“Well, you used this on us, right?” Sophia told him matter-of-factly. “So, it’s only fair that we can use it on you, too.”

Louis growled and raised his sword, only for Mitama to slam into him at top speed. With his magic defenses being shredded by the spell, Louis could only watch as the strike left a large crack on his barrier. He swung his sword, only for Mitama to nimbly jump out of the way. Just as he raised his gauntlet to unleash another magical attack, Ken stabbed him from behind, his sword creating another web of fractures across his shielding.

Meanwhile, Xander’s eyes shone with a turquoise glare as he surveyed the situation. If he could get a clean shot on that gauntlet crystal, it would assuredly end the fight right then and there. But getting the clean shot was the hard part.

_ His magic shield is weakened, but is still active. _ Xander thought to himself.  _ Magic repels other magic, so I’d be better off using an enchanted solid… _

Silently, he reached into his remote storage and pulled out a pen. It was the sturdiest one he could find - a sharp metal rod about twenty centimeters long, still in perfect condition. Xander vaguely recalled that Ken had crafted this pen for him - he felt a bit bad to use it as a crude arrow, but surely he wouldn’t mind.

In the meantime, Ken grit his teeth as he blocked Louis’ overhand strike. Mitama leapt in and struck again, tearing another gash into the dark knight’s shielding. Standing a good twenty meters away, their other friends stood firm, maintaining their anti-magic field which restrained their foe.

Louis howled in rage and prepared to barrel towards the source of his weakening powers, only to find Ken and Mitama adamantly standing in his way. His gauntlet flaring with fiery light, he punched the ground, causing numerous flaming geysers to erupt from the ground. Ken and Mitama weaved and dodged between them, gritting their teeth as the heat rapidly rose. Noticing that some of the explosions had veered off towards their friends, both of them raised their swords and neutralized the blasts, despite the effort straining their nigh-exhausted magic already.

Ten meters away, Xander smiled at Louis’ fist embedded in the dirt.  _ Jackpot. _

And he let the arrow fly.

 

There was a flash of crimson lightning, and Louis staggered back in surprise. Raising his right hand, his eyes widened as he saw a pen embedded in his gauntlet crystal. Wisps of electrified smoke hissed out of the cracked gemstone as it shattered, the shining pieces falling to the ground as they lost their lustre.

Slowly backing up, Louis checked his avatar’s magical power. As he expected, they had been reduced dramatically - to the point where they were nearly nonexistent. Looking at the seven panting Nanos standing before him, he realized that this was their victory. “Hmph. Well played.”

The heroes took this as a signal to launch one final assault. Even with his conduit ruined, Louis’ body in itself possessed some magical power. But when pitted against seven trained fighters, that power alone wasn’t enough - especially since Louis himself was rather clumsy in combat.

So, in a stark contrast to the beginning of the fight, the heroes carved him to ribbons. Melody shattered the remnants of his barrier with a magical shockwave, while Xander riddled his armor so many arrows that it would have made him look like a living pincushion if the arrows hadn’t all exploded first. Hibiki fired off flaming rockets of raw magical power, which erupted into blasts of flame that melted away at Louis’ heavy metal armor. Mitama became a blur of flashing silver, carving gash after gash into his armor as the black knight attempted to defend himself.

As Sophia’s blade cut off his left leg, causing him to stagger, the Radiant Swords went in for the finishing blow. Their swords glimmered with azure light as the pair struck as one - piercing straight through his chest.

The duo grabbed the knight by the shoulders and yanked their swords out of his chest. Louis gasped and collapsed in a heap, sparks and lingering magic jetting out of the numerous gouges in his body. As their final foe fell before them, the heroes fell to their knees with exhaustion - except for Ken and Yuki, who ran over to their kids.

“Are you okay?” Ken asked urgently as he lifted his son’s head. Yu murmured quietly and opened his eyes, before giving a thumbs up.

As Yuki hurriedly checked her daughter for wounds, Kana managed a reassuring smile. “We beat them? That’s really nice...sorry we couldn’t do more to help.”

Yuki was about to say something along the lines of “you don’t need to be sorry” when Yu spoke up as well. “We’ll train harder, we promise. So if something like this ever happens again, we can fight at your side.”

Ken just smiled at their children’s attitude. He could really see a lot of himself in these kids - and he was sure that Yuki could too. For now, they just tried to heal the kids’ wounds. Of course, they also gave them a well-deserved hug.

On the scorched battlefield, the others were bruised, battered, and exhausted. A drained Melody was leaning on an equally-drained Xander, the twins’ tattered capes billowing in the wind. Hibiki was sprawled out face-first on the ground, while Mitama and Sophia had just laid down to rest. Their foes didn’t look better off, either - Louis’ body had been reduced to what amounted to smoldering wreckage, and Jacques' body, which had miraculously survived the whole ideal, was in an even worse condition than before.

Once a few minutes had past, the nine of them had recuperated enough to stand over their fallen foe. Rather than anger or desperation, Louis muffled voice radiated with begrudging approval. “Wonderful. Just...wonderful. Though the path was rocky, radiant heroes have finally defeated the evil villains. That...brings me happiness.”

“It would bring you happiness to be defeated?” Yu inquired.

“Whether I won or lost...really didn’t matter to me.” Louis admitted. “All I wanted to do was be a villain in a world of fantasy - something I couldn’t do at my home. As long as that curiosity was sated, I was fine with the outcome of this ordeal.”

“Yet to entertain your own imagination, you brought death and suffering to our world.” Xander said quietly. “Do you have no remorse?”

“Of course I do.” Louis told them. “It was just that I had thrown away my remorse for my selfish visions. I have no problem admitting that. And although I did feel bad for what I was doing, I don’t expect your forgiveness. In fact, I don’t want you to forgive me. Allow me to fully shoulder the emotional responsibility of what I’ve done.”

The Nanos were silent.

Louis coughed. “Well...I’ve played my part. And I’ve been defeated. I sincerely thank you for everything you’ve done to satisfy my imagination - and although it upsets me to leave this planet, I am willing to do so. Now, kill me so that your world may be rid of me, once and for all.”

The Nanos looked at each other. Just like his older brother, Louis seemed redeemable enough. But he had still caused so much suffering to the world, just to satisfy his simple curiosity. Was this within the bounds of what the people of Territe could forgive?

After a brief conversation, the nine of them came to a conclusion.  _ Yes it was. _

“Nah, we won’t kill you.” Melody told him, causing his eyes to widen in shock. “You’re a curious fellow who has admittedly done a lot of questionable things. But you - we can see that you’re still redeemable. You really tried to be a classic evil villain, but you were really just a normal, curious guy who just got a bit too trigger-happy with a new discovery. If you really just want to stay here, we can probably help you with that, at least.”

But deep within them, both parties saw something darker in Melody’s words. It was true that Louis was just a fairly normal youth with a wild imagination. But the fact that a normal human youth could still have wrought so much destruction on Territe...that was something to be concerned about.

Louis shook his head. “Hey, I really appreciate your kindness, but I’ve really done a lot to this world. You’ve already done a lot for me - all I can do to repay you is leave this place, permanently.”

“We wanted to stop your conquest, not to evict you from our world.” Hibiki told him. “And now that we’ve stopped this war and saved our world...we don’t have to do anything else.”

“Y-you would really be fine with me staying here?”

The Radiant Swords nodded as Mitama spoke up. “After all, we know that you’re a fairly kind person inside - your behavior before your curiosity got the better of you is proof of that. If you could return to being that kind of person, we would gladly welcome you back - and I assume our people would too.”

But before Louis could even utter a single word in response, Jacques contacted him through his damaged earpiece.  _ “Uh, Louis? We’ve got a bit of a problem. Apparently one of the Admirals just reported some police coming to their house. Not exactly sure how, but we’ve been found out - and for what we’ve done, we’re liable to be investigated or even arrested.” _

Louis’ eyes widened. Then, he just chuckled to himself. “Well, turns out I can’t take your offer anyway. My time on this world is up, whether I want it or not. I suppose it’s only fair that I pay for what I’ve done…”

The Nanos had no idea what he was talking about, but still refrained from raising their weapons. However, Louis’ damaged earpiece crackled as a familiar voice loudly spoke through it. “Louis? What the hell happened down there?”

“Joe...it’s over. I’ve been defeated.” Louis told his Admiral solemnly. “And now, my time on this planet is drawing to a close. It was a good run while it lasted.”

“Hold up one moment...does this mean that we lost?”

Louis nodded. “Yes. Yes it does.”

Over his microphone, Louis could hear Joe grinding his metallic teeth in frustration. “Not yet we haven’t. I have no idea how those lot managed to defeat you of all people, but we have one last trick up our sleeve. Some of the others are with me now, preparing to fire our newest creation. This thing is the fruit of our labor - a perfect fusion of magic and technology! Harnessing the full magical potential of this moon, this weapon holds enough power to lay waste to everything on this world!”

Louis instinctively slammed the ground with his fist, causing the Nanos to jump. “Excuse me?”

Joe continued, unfazed. “It’s true that we’re all going to be apprehended or taken in for questioning soon. It’s only a matter of time until it’s my turn, as well. But we’re not leaving without extracting the price of our foes’ victory. I’ve talked this over with a couple of the other Admirals, and we’ve reached a conclusion - if we’re going down,  _ we’re sure as hell taking this world down with us.” _

Louis silently cursed while he questioned who had appointed Joe as an Admiral - it sure as hell hadn’t been him. However, Ken and Yuki simply collapsed to their knees, their eyes vacant and horrified.

“Mom? Dad? What’s wrong?” Kana asked, as Yu tried to shake them.

Unwelcome visions invaded the minds of the Radiant Swords. They witnessed a memory of their past - a colossal, fury-ridden face taking up the whole sky, with the pair of them helplessly kneeling before a being ready to end their world in a heartbeat. That situation had been miraculously defused. Yet, now…

The trembling pair could only whisper in unison. “Oh, no. No, no no…”

“Joe,  _ do not do this. _ I absolutely forbid you to fire that weapon.” Louis said, a mixture of severity and desperation lining his words. “Remember what I told you - you will not fire this without my signal. And I am directly  _ ordering _ you to desist in your actions.”

Silence for a few moments. Then, a voice on the other end sealed their fate.

“I’m sorry, kid. I owe you a great deal, but this is something  _ I  _ want to do.”

Louis quickly opened his user interface and punched in a private code. Immediately, the energy signatures of every active Admiral fizzled out.

As the black knight panted, he was vaguely aware of an approaching army coming from his right. Spearheading the charge were none other than Joseph and Anthony, the two Auroran leaders. Behind them stood the Magnum chief Magnus, with his  protégé Julius at his side.

“Holy...that’s Louis!” Anthony yelled. “We’ve crushed your army, and now we demand your surrender! Submit peacefully and you won’t be harmed, we swear it!”

Louis, however, stared at the sky vacantly. The Imperium sphere that had started it all was glowing brighter than usual. As he watched on in horror, the glow intensified rapidly, until it was almost like a second sun illuminating the night sky.

_ It...no, I was too late. _

The army turned towards the brightening sky in a daze. Beside Louis, the heroes shielded their eyes and gaped in shock. Jacques simply lowered his head in shame. It seemed that the weapon would not hit them directly - but its destructive power would still be cataclysmic. They had just doomed this world of miracles - and they had nobody to blame but themselves.

“W-what is that?” Yu whispered, hugging his mother for security.

A trembling Louis collapsed from shock. He could only manage three words.

_ “...I’m so sorry...” _

And the world melted into pure white light.

 

Louis violently tore off his headset in a cold sweat, ignoring the hair that it had pulled out on its way. The boy was practically hyperventilating, trying to comprehend what had just happened. But it didn’t take long for his senses to take over again - enough to let him feel the tears on his face.

Next to him, Jacques slowly removed his headset. He wasn’t crying, but his eyes had a terrible, hollow look to them - which was arguably worse.

The brothers couldn’t even say anything to each other. Even when the police came knocking on their door, they could do nothing but open it and turn themselves in. Through his stupor, Louis vaguely saw a group of five peculiar individuals, all of which were giving him scorching glares. One look at the frail, elderly man at the head of the group, and Louis immediately knew who he was in the presence of.

The brothers were sent off for questioning. A number of the Admirals were there too, but the Durand brothers made life easier for them by simply telling the whole truth. Nobody there would have believed that this had given them pleasure, judging solely from the utterly broken looks on their faces.

It barely took an hour, and everything was revealed. Until the authorities could figure out how to deal with this situation, the brothers would have to be imprisoned.

The brothers put up no resistance. This was less than they deserved.

And although everyone had a general idea of what had happened, the truth remained as clear as day.

_ Nobody truly knew what had happened to the planet known as Territe. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the arc is finished!
> 
> I enjoy writing fight scenes, don't get me wrong, but writing essentially nothing but combat for the last two chapters made me a bit tired. There aren't too many major fight scenes planned after this.
> 
> This is pretty much the end of their part, but I'm still not satisfied with how the antagonists turned out. Maybe one day I'll learn how to write proper villains. Today is not that day.
> 
> Alright, now that the Conquest arc is finished, the next one will be a bit "quieter", I suppose. Time for me to channel my questionably-existent angst into words.


	9. Ruin 1

_Several days later..._

There were many planets in the universe. Too many to count. Humanity had discovered countless planets over time, but they knew that they would never even be able to discover a millionth of the planets the universe offered.

Yet out of all the planets humanity had found, there was one planet that had stood out. Nobody knew what had happened to it - some even wondered if it had been destroyed after the catastrophic events it had undergone. But what nobody knew was that the miniscule planet still kept a silent vigil in outer space, its sun and moon orbiting it as if nothing had happened.

This was Territe, a lively planet teeming with magic and miracles.

Or, at least it had _used_ to be…

 

_On Territe, somewhere deep underground…_

In the wreckage of a subway station, all was silent except for the occasional dripping of water. The station had once serviced hundreds of people a day. Now it was dark and desolate, a ruin of a not-so-ancient time.

Then, a quiet voice pierced the veil of silence.

Sitting atop a pile of rubble and twisted train tracks, a pair of turquoise eyes glowered faintly in the dark. The bard whom they belonged to had no idea what had happened after the flash of white that had engulfed their world. When she had woken up, she was here, alone in the dark.

Even in her confusion, Melody understood that something was wrong. Whatever had happened to her world had severely damaged the very magic that made up the planet. She could feel the disturbance in her surroundings, and she could feel it in herself too - a strange feeling, like the very fibers of her being had been rearranged.

But what she knew was that she was alone. Her magical powers had been massively suppressed, which she could only link to the world’s now-warped magic. The station that caged her was sealed away by countless tons of unstable rubble, making escape out of the question for now. She could only pray to find a way to escape, or for someone to rescue her.

Subsisting off of the surprising amount of food remaining in the station, she would constantly wonder what had become of her brother, her friends, or her world. Yet all she could do when not looking for escape routes was sit around uselessly.

But alone in the dark, the silence was deafening - and it cried out to her. And so, the bard would sing in return, hoping to soothe its pain.

_“At the end of our pure sparkling paradise,_

_Buried deep within rock and far away from the sun,_

_Here I am, fated to sing my prayers to hope,_

_All alone in quiet solitude...”_

 

_Sixty meters above, and ten kilometers south…_

The blonde artist sighed, his blue cape fluttering in the breeze. He was seated on a rocky beach overlooking the gently rolling waves, the evening sun filtering through gaps in the cloudy sky and casting beams of radiance into the ocean. Xander noted that the scene looked just like any other, but he knew that this evening was anything but normal.

Something had gone horribly awry after that flash of blinding light. From the moment Xander had woken up in a tree, could feel that the world’s magic had been disturbed, like water that someone had thrown a stone into. Possibly because of this, Xander could access his remote storage for mere seconds at a time.

He finished up the final touches on his painting, which depicted the landscape laid out before him. His magic imbued the painting, giving it an atmospheric realism unlike any normal drawing - but the mood it inspired only made him more melancholic. He reached into his bag, pulling out a certain sketch of two children sleeping peacefully with their parents. Those days seemed like so long ago.

The artist heard scraping noises coming from behind him, and slowly turned around with his bow in hand. Sure enough, there were some humanoid machines slowly shambling towards him. The contraptions were in a poor state - they were likely robotic soldiers left over from those brothers’ conquest, which had miraculously survived the disaster that had befallen Territe. But what surprised Xander were the glowing figures accompanying those mechanical corpses. There were at least seven of them - formless figures made of colored light, clawing their way towards him with unusual levels of hostility.

 _Curious,_ he thought. _They seem to be made of magical energy. A magical anomaly, perhaps? I wouldn’t be surprised._

As the entities ambled towards him, Xander decided that he would dispose of them before they could try to harm him. Raising his bow, he nocked a magical arrow and fired, tearing through several robots at once. As several more converged on him, he swung his bow and systematically ripped through them with its bladed edges. Noticing that one of those anomalies had somehow appeared behind him, Xander went for the simple option and drove his fist into it, before slamming it into a rock hard enough to splatter it.

The glowing energy seeped into the ground as Xander packed up. He was getting a bit hungry, and he wanted to find some food. There was a fruit tree about a kilometer away, but he had noticed the entrance to a subway station. _There might be food in there,_ he thought, but in reality he was driven by something else. He felt as if there was a light within the station, beckoning to him…

 

_Several hundred kilometers northwest, 2000 meters above sea level…_

Sophia’s long white hair blew in the chilly mountaintop wind as she surveyed the area. The mage wasn’t sure how she had woken up on this mountain, but she clearly remembered the events that had led up to it. The Admirals had succeeded in firing their superweapon, and it had caused a slew of problems for Territe. Sophia wasn’t sure if it had actually caused a lot of physical damage to the planet, but such a powerful magical weapon was guaranteed to warp the magic that their world was made of. Already, Sophia could see strange phenomena like localized storms of unusual intensity, or patches of land laced with arcing energy and immortal flames.

“I see another one. That desert over there has frozen over.” Sophia said, speaking into a microphone. She had decided that it would be in her best interests to record her experiences in this ravaged world as an audio-journal of sorts, using a device she had pulled from her remote storage. “The source of the freezing seems to have vanished. Unusual.”

The wind howled again, prompting Sophia to put both hands inside her sleeves. Her insulating magic didn’t seem to be working as well as it used to.

She heard a rustling behind her, and shrugged once she noticed it was simply the strange creatures she had discovered earlier. They were odd creatures that resembled vaguely animalistic constructs made from multicolored, glowing wireframe models of geometric shapes. “These magical constructs are still confusing me. I’m not sure how they got here, but these weren’t documented before the brothers came to Territe. Perhaps these magical anomalies extend to creating new life from the planet’s magic as well. How very curious.”

One of the creatures let out a surreal, warbling whistle. Around it, the snow and rocks seemed to flicker as they briefly became wireframe-like as well. Mere second later, everything went back to being normal.

“They seem to be able to change their surroundings in some way.” Sophia mused. “I would love to research this, but it seems rather unsafe. Best not to touch them.”

One of the creatures developed an interest in Sophia and slowly stumbled towards her. The mage drew her sword and hefted it to ward off the creature. When the strange, geometric entity failed to heed her warning, reaching out to touch her, the mechanical blade split in two as Sophia pulled the trigger on her weapon. One rail cannon blast later, and the strange being had been blasted into a pile of tiny glowing cubes.

The rest of the creatures paid no heed to their companion’s destruction.

Sophia sighed as she powered down and put away her sword, activating the safety function she had recently built as to not cut herself by accident. There was still a lot to learn about how the world had been damaged by that disaster. But for now, she had made up her mind - the best option was to head for Electi Terram, assuming it hadn’t been destroyed. Her friends and family were liable to be heading there as well, if they were alive.

Yet as she mapped out her location and a potential path to her destination, she still felt a melancholy chill that wasn’t from the high-altitude air. Rather, it was from the question she kept asking herself: _Are there any other survivors?_

She was used to being alone. She had lived alone for ten years of her childhood.

But she didn’t want to be alone again.

 

_At ground level, two hundred kilometers southeast…_

The evening sun shone down upon the snowy taiga, its radiance glistening off the pure-white snow covering the ground. The sky, a pale blue stained with streaks of orange, was mostly clear save for a couple clouds. The air was crisp and cold.

The only sound that could be heard was a constant crunching noise that pierced the silence of the taiga. Its source was the small figure currently trudging through the snow, an uncertain destination in their mind.

Hibiki panted as she powered through the thick blanket of snow, her breath leaving clouds of mist in her wake. The snow wasn’t absurdly thick - about half a meter - but trudging through it was still exhausting.

The mage reached a barren tree and heavily sat down at its base, leaning back against it for support. Feeling another burst of biting wind blow into her face, Hibiki curled into a ball and tucked her legs into her jacket. When she had pulled the thick winter jacket out of her remote storage, she had silently thanked her older sister for putting it there. Hibiki sometimes felt that Mitama doted on her a bit too much, but she still really appreciated everything her older sister did for her.

She stared into a frozen puddle beside her. Throughout her life, whenever people had described the color of her eyes and hair, they had usually said it was the color of “a cold winter sky”. This was far from the first winter sky Hibiki had seen, but she could still only understand their choice of words whenever she saw a real winter sky.

Hibiki reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out one of the granola bars that Mitama had put there as an afterthought. It was frozen solid, so Hibiki just used her magic to heat it up a bit before eating it. She needed to keep eating if she wanted to keep up her strength. She wanted to make it back to Electi Terram, after all. It would probably be where her friends and sister were heading.

After eating the granola bar, she took out her wand. Turning the rod of cold metal in her hands, Hibiki took a moment to admire its craftsmanship. The clear Imperium crystal nestled within its flower-shaped topper shone in the sunlight, ready to channel its master’s powers at a moment’s notice.

Hibiki’s cold fingers fumbled over the holes she had drilled in its handle. Raising the wand to her lips, she could barely play a note in the cold. With a frown, she put it away and stared into the horizon.

It was a strange feeling, being alone. Hibiki had never truly been alone before - even when serving as a test subject for the Gods, Hibiki had at least had the titanic beings as some kind of companionship. Yet now, she had no idea if there were even any living Nanos on the planet besides her. It made her feel hollow.

But Hibiki was always one to look on the bright side of things. Today made it easier for her - to look on the bright side of things, all she had to do was look around at the snowy landscape. Underneath the sunset-lit sky, the light turned the icicles lining the dead trees into sparkling diamonds. The snow seemed to glimmer as it soaked up the sun’s light.

Hibiki breathed in the crisp air, heart simultaneously swelling from joy and tightening from loneliness, then sighed a sigh that was equal parts satisfaction and melancholy.

Despite everything, the evening was still beautiful.

 

_A hundred kilometers south…_

Mitama’s blade hummed as its central crystal glowed with a severe blue light. With little more than occasional grunts, its owner hacked and slashed through the vegetation blocking her path.

It had only been a day since Mitama had mysteriously woken up here, and she had immediately started journeying southeast. She had recognized the nearby geography from a book that Sophia had lent her, and deduced that the best path of action was to head straight for Electi Terram. If she wanted a chance of finding her companions again - especially her younger sister - that was probably the best option.

She grunted again as her blade ripped through a tangled thicket of vines. She didn’t really know what had happened on that day, but she _did_ know that it had separated her from her friends and sister. She had no idea what had happened to the rest of the world - for all she knew, she could be the last living thing on the planet. Mitama was about to silently curse those two brothers, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Well, to be fair, it was only _partially_ their fault.

Mitama stepped over a gnarled tree root. Whatever superweapon the Admirals had unleashed on them, it had done a good job of royally screwing up their planet’s innate magic. This was evident from the sudden vegetation that was suffocating the area - Mitama didn’t remember that being there the last time she visited this lake. Furthermore, she had found out the hard way that the lake seemed to have become some kind of magical acid. Fortunately, she had only lost a bit of her cloak. She simply attributed that to luck - she could have easily ended up like Yuki had, or worse.

As she cut her way out of the thicket, Mitama stepped onto a beach. The rolling waves splashing onto the beach looked innocuous enough, but Mitama had seen those same waves dissolve rocks she had thrown in to test them. The sand seemed somewhat safe, but the water was still eating away at the shoreline.

She looked into a puddle of water, contemplating the chrome-haired girl that tiredly stared back at her. She had always looked rather stoic, and her time as a guardian had all but destroyed her emotions. But living with her friends and sister had slowly restored them. She wondered if all of that was about to be undone now. She could practically feel what little light her eyes possessed seeping away.

Mitama tensed as the water suddenly churned. Immediately, a giant creature leapt out of the water, flying straight towards Mitama. The thing looked kind of like a shark, with a mottled brown hide and a mouth full of jagged teeth.

Mitama was having none of it, though. As the creature flew at her, she simply channeled her magic and punched it, sending it tumbling across the beach.

She walked up to it and cringed at what she saw. For such a fearsome-looking animal, it was also a pathetic, disfigured wretch. Amongst other things, parts of its hide were melted and burned, and its wild eyes bulged out of its sockets. The transformed water had done something to it - and it was clearly suffering.

 _Poor thing._ Mitama thought to herself. _I’ll put you out of your misery._

And with that, she drew her sword and cleanly decapitated it. Blood seeped everywhere, staining the sand red, but Mitama was unfazed. She might have been a bit biased, since these were creatures and not people, but she knew that death was a mercy in certain situations. At least, that was what she believed.

However, she noticed many more twisted mockeries of life clawing their way out of the water, or shambling around the beach. None of them were natural - clearly, all of them had been forcibly mutated, either by the water or the planet’s warped magic. However, she could see that all of them were in immense pain. Some were crying out in anguish - others didn’t even have mouths to cry out with.

Mitama sighed, raising her bloodied sword.

She could pay her respects to all of these poor souls later.

 

_Two hundred kilometers to the east…_

“Kana!”

“Uhh…”

“Kana! Wake up!”

The girl’s sapphire eyes snapped open and focused like camera lenses. Leaning over her was none other than her brother Yu. Around her was what seemed to be a forest. She was lying down in the grass. Those were all things her mind registered in the first few seconds of her awakening.

Kana got up and dusted herself off. “W-what happened? Where is this?”

The sun was setting as she looked around. The sky was fairly clear, and the forest around them seemed pretty normal. But as Kana shook her head, her memories began returning to her. Their quest, the final battle, the blinding light that had seared the sky. And last of all, she remembered the feeling of someone being pulled away from her.

Despite the tornado of thoughts eating away at her mind, Kana calmed herself and decided to start simple. “Yu? How long have you been up for?”

Her brother shrugged. “About an hour or so. Whatever happened to this planet seemed to have scattered us. It’s honestly a stroke of luck that we didn’t get seperated too. If that had happened, I…”

Yu ended the sentence early as Kana recalled something - a memory of the siblings hugging each other tightly as harsh radiance enveloped their whole world. Someone had been grabbing them as well, but their grip had quickly faltered.

“Wait, so you mean it’s just the two of us?” Kana asked. “Where’s mom and dad? What happened to all our friends?”

Yu shrugged dejectedly. “I...don’t know.”

Kana laid down again. So they were alone now? That wasn’t good. Kana hated being alone, and she knew that her older brother did too. They had to find their parents and friends as soon as possible. If everyone had been scattered around the planet, then the place where they would most likely go to was…

“Electi Terram.” Kana muttered. “We have to head for Electi Terram. Our parents and friends are probably heading back there too.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Yu told his sister. “I’m not really sure where we are, but I think that we can figure something out if we just…”

His voice trailed off as his eyes widened in surprise. “K-Kana?”

“Yeah?”

“Y-your...your hand!”

Kana slowly looked towards her right hand...and gasped in shock. The dirt seemed to be liquefying around it, pulling her arm into the ground.

She shrieked in horror and tried pulling it out, only for the ground to pull back harder. Yu grabbed her other arm and pulled as Kana strained another time. Her arm shot out of the ground, and the two kids tumbled backwards before getting to their feet.

Once their vision had refocused, the siblings couldn’t believe their eyes. The air seemed to shimmer and warp as if it was made of oil. The trees were being twisted and morphed into towering, abstract...things that defied all laws of geometry. Their forms were akin to something that would appear in a fevered dream - bizarre mockeries of reality that made the Nebulous Angels’ heads hurt from just looking at them.

And of course, there was the issue of the very earth melting beneath them.

The two children yelped and made a break for the forest’s exit, about half a kilometer away. The ground rumbled and shifted as it took on a more liquid consistency, and the warped trees crackled with unstable light as they spontaneously burst into flames. Leaping from foothold to foothold, the Nebulous Angels ran like their lives depended on it - and to their surprise, they made it out of the forest without any trouble. Even after they left the distorted woodland, the two of them kept running and running, until the churning forest was out of sight and the two kids collapsed from exhaustion.

As fatigue overtook them, the pair shared a silent agreement.

They wanted their parents.

 

_One hour later, several hundred kilometers southeast…_

Night had fallen on Territe. In the midst of a grassy field, a warm nighttime breeze blew over the land. Everything seemed peaceful - but if you were a being that could sense the planet’s magical turmoil, you would know that it was nothing but that

As the breeze caused the plump orange fruits on a fruit tree to sway, a hand reached up and plucked one from its branch. Turning the fruit in his hands, Ken sighed and bit into it, chewing the sweet fruit thoughtfully. Looking up at the silver moon glowing peacefully in the sky, he still had to convince himself that it was the reason for all of this. The reason for the disaster that had struck their planet.

Signs of physical damage had been evident, but some places hadn’t suffered from any actual destruction. However, Ken could feel the planet’s magic twisting and churning from that Imperium moon’s overwhelming magical burst. Magic had a tendency to disrupt other magic. So a blast like that, striking a planet made of magic, with beings made of magic living on it…

He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that. What he needed to focus on was the task at hand. He had been separated from his companions, and needed to find them again - especially his wife, Yuki, and his kids, Yu and Kana. When he had woken up by himself, he had instinctively been drawn in this direction. Now, he felt that he was nearing his destination, considering that there was a small, ruined castle in front of him.

He had no idea what the castle was, or who built it. Perhaps it was something the brothers had built during their conquest. Maybe it was just a construction project of a town he didn’t know about.

Noticing the door was blocked with heavy rubble, Ken simply used his hands and hefted it out of the way, brick by brick. Once his path was clear, Ken carefully stepped inside the doorway and looked around. The castle was empty save for some vegetation.

Ken noticed a stairway and carefully ascended, stepping back when one of the weathered steps crumbled beneath his boots. Drawing his sword, he used his magic to stabilize the rest of the staircase before continuing upwards. Once he reached the castle’s roof, he gasped in surprise as he beheld the bizarre scene laid before his eyes.

Taking up a good half of the castle’s roof was a sphere of dark violet energy, hovering as if it were maintaining a silent vigil over the moonlit land. The sphere was about fifteen meters in diameter and resonated with an odd, otherworldly aura.

Drawn to the sphere by curiosity, Ken inched closer to the peculiar object. It emitted a magical signature, so it was magic-based for sure. And despite the feeling of _wrongness_ radiating from it, Ken could sense no real danger coming from the sphere.

As he drew closer, Ken noticed that there was something in the murky blackness of the sphere. Despite the fact that the thing was almost pitch-black, it was still translucent enough for him to make out a shape in its center. And suspended in the center of the sphere was none other than Yuki, curled up in a fetal position.

At the sight of his beloved trapped within that sphere, Ken totally disregarded his safety and pressed his hands against the ball, trying to get a closer look. Fortunately, nothing happened to him - although the sphere seemed to put up some kind of resistance, as if his hands and its surface were opposing magnets. Ken breathed a sigh of relief as he contemplated how lucky he was to have found Yuki so easily, but he could also tell that something was wrong. Yuki was sitting completely still - and her eyes, which once shone like sapphires refracting sunbeams, were completely dull.

Worry started creeping into Ken’s heart. He knew for a fact that this sphere was not normal - if he felt uneasy _outside_ of it, he had no idea how Yuki felt _inside_ that thing. Yet there were still too many uncertainties about the magical anomaly. From the repulsion he had felt, Ken wasn’t sure if this was a problem he could simply cut to pieces with his sword. Besides, he didn’t know if Yuki would be unharmed should he attempt such a thing.

Ken put a hand on the sphere’s surface, wishing that he could simply reach into it and pull Yuki out of there. He silently chided himself for that thought, then chided himself for chiding himself - no matter how childish his wishes were, it was still worth wishing for them.

However, it was in that moment that Ken got a sudden idea. Sophia had always told him about how magic had a tendency to repel and warp other magic. That was surely the reason that this sphere even existed - the magic from the Admirals’ weapon had warped the magic that made up the planet. So, why couldn’t he just use his magic to neutralize the sphere?

Ken nodded adamantly. That was what he would do. Like a campfire burning wood for heat, Ken burned his doubts for blind determination as he raised his sword. Lightly resting its edge on the sphere’s surface, his eyes sparked and flared to life as magical energy coursed through him. As he directed the flow of energy into the sphere, he cleared his mind of all things except for his final objective.

_Bring Yuki back._

 

Yuki stared listlessly into the swirling void beneath her boots. Despite the emptiness seeming to go downwards forever, some invisible force kept her standing on whatever this world’s equivalent of solid ground was.

Four months. That was how long she had been stuck in this silent dimension, if her internal clock was correct. After that blinding flash, she had woken up here - in a dark world of oddities, where meaning no longer had meaning. The world was was nothing more than a dark violet void stretching infinitely in every direction. The only thing that Yuki found mildly interesting were the glowing purple patterns that constantly pulsated in the distance, projecting abstract, kaleidoscopic tapestries of alien geometry into her vision.

There was nothing to do here. The world was totally devoid of sound and sensation. It didn't seem that she even needed to fulfill her basic needs like hunger or thirst - but she was still numb regardless. The only one of her senses that still worked properly was her sight - and even that seemed to be faltering in the dark world. She had already tried to escape many times, but no matter how far she ran, or how much she swung her sword, she couldn’t find a way to break free from her prison. It seemed that things like time and space were irrelevant in this odd world. Really, the best use of Yuki’s time was was to sit there dejectedly and do nothing.

Trapped in her personal reality by herself, Yuki’s mind quickly became numb. Merely thinking about anything now became a chore, thanks to the layers of fog that seemed to cloud her brain whenever she tried to think about something - and whenever she _did_ think of anything, they were always hopeless musings that further broke her spirit. Within mere days, she had become totally lost in her mind’s solitary wanderings, completely desensitized to her surroundings.

In a situation like this, Yuki had half a mind to simply give up. She didn’t mean death, either - she had wondered what would happen if she just stopped thinking. She would cease to exist as a living being and melt into the surrounding world, reduced to a landmark in this featureless space. And that would be it for her life.

However, if there was one thing that this blasted place had not taken, it was Yuki’s indomitable will. Even if this place seemed devoid of all hope, she would keep clinging to life as long as she still drew breath - just in case a miracle happened, and she was rescued from this torment.

But it wasn’t easy. Yuki was a very social person, and being isolated like this wasn’t doing wonders for her mental state. Sometimes, she would see visions of the people dearest to her - Ken, Yu, and Kana - but they would fade away just as quickly as the fleeting, fragmented thoughts swirling in her mind.

 

Meanwhile, Ken’s face was beaded with sweat as he continued pouring his magic into the violet sphere, attempting to neutralize or otherwise destroy it. All those years ago, he had made a promise to Yuki - and he intended to keep it.

 

Yuki sat lifelessly as hours became days. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep clinging to the edge of this metaphorical precipice. Every day, she would spend less time thinking and more time in a catatonic daze. She feared that her mind would eventually fall asleep permanently, and that she would never be able to wake herself up again.

However, her stupor was shattered by a glimmer of light in the distance. Yuki squinted as the pinprick of radiance blinded her tired, light-sensitive eyes.

_That...that’s new. Could that be it? An end to this?_

Seeing that tiny bit of hope at the end of the tunnel, Yuki was filled with newfound resolve. Taking off like a bullet, Yuki ran towards the light like her life depended on it. Even as her weakened muscles started aching, she pressed onwards - running nonstop for the next hour.

Before, she didn’t have anything to provide for a sense of direction. But now, that light was her guiding star - telling her that this prison did indeed have an end. At first, Yuki was dejected when she saw that the light wasn’t getting any closer. But she persisted regardless - and eventually, she saw the light growing closer.

Yuki dashed towards the light until her body felt like it was burning up, eventually collapsing within arm’s reach of the shining beacon. Groaning, she staggered to her feet and panted heavily, staring at her prize. Turns out that the glimmer of light had been a crack barely a meter long, somehow hovering in midair. Still, Yuki could see how any light could have illuminated this dark world, even a tiny one like this.

She pressed her hand to the crack, only to back up in surprise as it shuddered and expanded. Yuki attempted to put her eye to it, but was forced to back away and blink the spots out of her eyes once she found that her eyes couldn’t tolerate the radiance.

But immediately afterwards, she experienced something that she hadn’t experienced in a while - _sound._ For the first time in over four months, Yuki _heard something._ And it wasn’t some random sound - it was someone calling her name.

Even in her numb state, Yuki could recognize that voice anywhere. And the sheer anguish in the voice caused her heart to tighten.

Yuki gasped as her surroundings began to glow with blue light. It took her a moment to realize that the light was coming from _her_. Her eyes, which had remained dull for some time now, had suddenly lit up with determination.

Her will renewed yet again, Yuki drew her blade and willed it to crackle with energy, backing up in surprise as it actually responded to her wishes. Without further ado, she rammed the blade into the floating crack and willed it to discharge all of her available magic.

She wasn’t even sure of what she was doing. She was acting on instinct at this point. If there was anything she could do to break free from this prison, she would try it - regardless if it worked or not.

As her blade shuddered and crackled, Yuki’s fevered mind became overcome by a single objective - one that she was determined to fulfill at all costs.

_Let me see Ken again._

 

Ken collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as the dark sphere before him shuddered and sparked. Then the sphere dissolved into countless particles of dark energy, which scattered in the breeze to reveal Yuki kneeling on the ground.

Ken ran and grabbed Yuki before she could keel over, only for his heart to skip a beat. Her skin was deathly cold, and he wasn’t even sure if her heart was beating anymore.

But before he could start to panic, Ken felt warmth spreading through her body. Within mere seconds, Yuki’s eyes fluttered open and slowly looked around. “K-Ken?”

Ken breathed a shaky sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god. You’re okay.”

Yuki’s eyes began to regain a bit of their old radiance as she took deep breaths. “That was horrible...how long has it been since... _that_ happened?”

“Uh...about a day or two?”

Yuki exhaled shakily. “A day? I...I don’t know what happened to me. I was stuck in a terrible world where nothing made sense. I was all alone in the dark for what seemed like months. I thought I would be alone forever...I was about to give up...but you saved me.”

Ken frowned as he wondered what Yuki had been through inside that sphere. It had been traumatizing, for sure. However, once he saw Yuki’s eyes darting around in search of comfort, he managed a reassuring smile. “I made a promise, did I not? All those years ago, we promised each other something. That we would stick together, even when it all ended. And if I wanted to keep that promise...I couldn’t let you waste away in that sphere, all alone.”

Yuki began shaking as her eyes filled with tears. Burying her face into Ken’s shoulder, all she could manage was “Thank you” over and over again.

Ken smiled and hugged her tightly as his tears began to flow too. In this tender moment, both of them desperately wanted to believe everything was going to be okay. And as they sat there under the moon, hugging each other tightly while the warm breeze gently caressed the two of them, it almost seemed like everything _would_ be okay.

But deep in their hearts, both of them knew better.

This was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to get a handle on what I really enjoy writing. This chapter felt nice to write - even though I lost inspiration halfway through and had to get it back.
> 
> Since the key phrase I had for this chapter were along the lines of "solitary isolation", I ended up drawing a lot of inspiration from certain feelings I had felt when in certain environments, most of which seem to be cold, dark nights. Sometimes my mind really does wander a lot...
> 
> And no, the mini-song that Melody sang is not my own creation. It's a modified version of the opening lines to a song I had listened to, called _Paradise of Light and Shadow_.


	10. Ruin 2

_A few days later..._

In the dank darkness of the subway station, all was silent. Then, there was a flash of blue light and a deafening bang as one of the walls exploded violently. Amidst the clouds of dust, a pair of turquoise eyes shone through the gloom like spotlights as Xander Galante stepped over the pile of rubble he had just created.

He scanned the area. There wasn’t anything of interest here - even the stores were devoid of any supplies he could use. The other stations he had visited had been stocked with a lot of food and water, which he had collected. His remote storage seemed to be working, but it could still only open for seconds at a time.

However, he wasn’t looking for supplies anymore. While delving into the empty tunnels, he had heard a singing voice drifting through the darkness. Recognizing the voice, he had immediately started following it through the ruined subway stations, blasting through anything in his way.

Xander could recognize that voice anywhere. After all, he had spent his entire life with its owner. And the only person who could sing such a wonderful melody like that was none other than...well, his twin sister Melody.

As Xander’s footsteps echoed in the dark subway tunnel, the voice got louder. Soon, he arrived at a station which had seemingly collapsed. A huge pile of debris cut off one half of the station from the other.

He put his ear to the pile of rubble. The soft, melodious voice that had beckoned to him was singing a different song - one of wistful longing. The voice’s sadness pained Xander greatly. This place was dark, silent, and isolated. He knew how much Melody hated all of those things, especially silence.

His eyes scanned the area. As much as he wanted to simply blast his way through the rubble and save his sister, he could tell that such a rash action would only get them both killed. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that this place was incredibly unstable. In fact, that was probably the only reason Melody hadn’t busted her way out of her prison already.

The pile of rubble seemed to be one of the only things stopping the place’s ceiling from collapsing on them all. There wasn’t anything else he could use to prop up the ceiling, so he would have to take a risk. Fortunately, the environment was rather accommodating of his insane idea - there was an open tunnel right behind him.

But first of all, he walked up to the rubble and cleared his throat. “Melody?”

The singing stopped. Then, a quiet voice replied. “Xander? How-”

“We’ll talk later.” Xander said urgently. “For now, sit tight. I’m going to bust you out of this place.”

And before Melody could say anything else, Xander backed up into the tunnel and raised his bow. An arrow of glowing orange light materialized in his hand as he took aim. Gritting his teeth in anticipation, he let the arrow fly, immediately nocking a blunt green one to replace it.

The orange arrow struck the rubble and detonated violently, blasting the entire pile into dust. As the dust cleared, there was a rumbling noise as the subway station strained to hold itself together. Noticing Melody inside of the space he had just revealed, he attached a magical rope to the green arrow and launched it at his sister. Melody got what he was trying to do and raised her hands, catching the glowing arrow.

As the ground shook even more violently, Xander attached his end of the rope to another arrow and shot it into the tunnel behind him, willing it to consume its own magic as some form of propulsion. As the magically-propelled projectile screamed through the air, it yanked on the rope and pulled Melody right out of her half of the subway station - straight into her waiting brother. As the twins tumbled into the tunnel, there was a deafening crash as the ceiling came down on the station, burying the place underneath countless tons of rubble.

The twins panted heavily as the magical rope dissolved, sending countless motes of light dancing through the darkness. Then, they looked at each other. Melody’s face was filled with utmost respect, while Xander’s was filled with utmost relief.

They didn’t need any emotional reunion. Having learned to read each other for their entire lives, their expressions were enough to convey the messages that they wanted to send to each other. So, as if nothing had happened, Xander got up, dusted himself off and helped Melody to her feet.

“Thanks a ton.” Melody told her twin gratefully. “I thought I’d be stuck there forever…”

“Hey, siblings look out for each other.” Xander told her. “I’m glad you’re back.”

And with that, the twins shared a warm hug before leaving for the subway’s exit.

 

Hibiki trudged through the snowstorm, the howling winds chilling her to the bone. She had pulled a scarf out of her remote storage, which she had been eager to wear alongside her winter jacket - however, none of those seemed to be doing a lot to protect her from the blizzard.

However, she saw a bizarre ray of hope. What seemed to be a pulsating red wall shimmered barely a kilometer away from her. And on the other side, the environment was drastically different - a grassy meadow peppered with countless autumnal-looking trees, with the early-morning sun shining overhead.

Hibiki was confused. _Wow, this planet’s magic is really getting weird!_

She didn’t get any more time to think about that. Somehow, the dark clouds above her had decided to simply dump several truckloads of snow onto the area, instantly burying her. As the relatively short Nano dug her way out of the snow, she noticed that the sudden snowfall had increased the depth of the snow from half a meter to two meters - taller than she was.

Hibiki glared at the snow in frustration, raising her wand. As much as Hibiki prided herself on her kindness, even her patience had its limits.

So, one magical blast later, Hibiki walked through the smoldering path she had carved into the snow. Sure, the mud beneath her boots was now sopping wet, but she didn’t mind.

The instant she crossed the barrier, the warmth on the other side hit her like a hammer. Looking at the raging blizzard behind her and the sunny fields before her, it was almost like she had stepped into another world.

And even more surprising was that there was a familiar person seated underneath a nearby tree. Underneath its autumn-colored foliage, Mitama was slumped against its trunk, snoozing peacefully.

Hibiki checked for any dangers before approaching her older sister and letting out a grateful sigh. It had only been a couple of days, but Hibiki had already started to miss the company of her older sister. The fact that she was able to find Mitama so quickly was very fortunate indeed.

Yet Hibiki’s mind started wandering again. She knew how happy Mitama would be when she saw her younger sister’s face again, but she wanted to surprise her. Soon, a smile began growing on her face. Surely a little prank couldn’t hurt…

Mere minutes later, Mitama groggily woke up and yawned. Then, confusion overtook her mind as she opened her eyes and saw nothing but inky blackness. Believing that she was being ambushed, she drew her sword, willed it to blaze with fiery energy, and swung it in a circle. As she heard a high-pitched yelp from somewhere nearby, Mitama suddenly realized that there was an object wrapped around her head, covering her eyes and obscuring her vision. Reaching up, she yanked it off her head, only to stare in confusion at the white scarf now in her hands.

Then she heard a giggle from her right. Turning towards the noise, she was astounded to see her sister Hibiki standing right in front of her, a cheeky smile plastered on her face. Mitama put two and two together and sighed. “Hibiki...you find me here, and the first thing you do is play a trick on me?”

Hibiki just laughed. “Hey, I just wanted to surprise you!”

Mitama smiled, her eyes glimmering with a rare spark of light. She held out her arms, prompting Hibiki to tackle her with a hug. “Ah, Hibiki...thank goodness. It’s great to see you again.”

“You too, Mitama.” Hibiki told her, taking a seat beside her sister.

As they rested, Mitama noticed that her sister was wearing a winter jacket. “So you found the jacket I left you?”

“Mhm. Thanks a ton for that.” Hibiki told her gratefully, pulling another granola bar out of her pocket. “Want one?”

“Heh...don’t mind if I do.”

 

Meanwhile, in an abandoned town, the rising sun filtered through the thin layer of clouds covering the sky, tinting them a pale shade of golden. The suburban town was still in fairly good shape, save for the fact that there was nobody there.

Or, at least it _appeared_ that nobody was there, because it wasn’t long before the door to one of the forges creaked opened. A groggy Yu and a yawning Kana ambled out of the forge, rubbing their eyes and stretching.

After a close encounter with a fierce thunderstorm, they had stumbled across a ghost town and had decided to sleep in one of its abandoned forges. However, they both had suffered the misfortune of being struck with disturbing nightmares that night, the memories of which still haunted their minds now.

Yu had dreamed that he was trapped underwater in a contained, endless ocean, with Kana floating lifelessly at his side as the water swirled violently. He had felt his lungs filling up with liquid, but he somehow wasn’t drowning. Meanwhile, there had been countless giant eyes in the distance, staring at him with an intensity rivaling that of an Auroran cutting laser. He had tried to escape, but he could only bang helplessly against glass walls thousands of times thicker than he was tall. All he could do was futilely gasp for air and grab onto Kana so she didn’t get swept away.

Kana’s dream was simpler. She had dreamed of the end of the world - a vision of a burning sky, swallowing up the entire world as she watched on helplessly. Once the flames had engulfed everything, she had somehow found herself alive in a dark world of ash and embers. Noticing that Yu had been lying lifelessly beside her, she had touched his chest to feel for a heartbeat - only to realize that he didn’t have one.

Needless to say, both children had woken up in a cold sweat.

However, the kids weren’t ones to hold on to things like these for too long. Locating an abandoned food stall, they had decided to use what remained of its edibles to cook breakfast for themselves.

As Kana fried some eggs, Yu’s mind came up with a random thought. “Hey, sis?”

Kana looked up from her task, sliding the eggs onto a paper plate. “Hm? What is it?”

“You ever wonder what it would be like to sleep on one of those human handkerchiefs?”

Kana’s eyes lit up. “Ah...that would be so cool! Sure, it’d be huge, so it would honestly be more like endless criss-crossing mountain ranges. But as big as it would be, it’d probably be so soft…”

Yu smiled as he imagined that - him and Kana running, playing, and sleeping on a silky-smooth weave the size of a continent. “It would feel so weird to have something so big all to ourselves, though…”

“Hm...you’re right.”

And with that, the brainstorming session ended. The Nebulous Angels ate their breakfast, cleaned up, and resumed their journey.

As they walked through the broken town, Yu and Kana couldn’t help but wonder where everyone went. Even children as young as they were could still understand that the disaster that struck the planet had probably extinguished an immeasurable amount of life. But...surely it didn’t kill _everyone_ , right?

Suddenly, Kana elbowed her brother and pointed to a nearby junkyard. It took a bit of effort, but Yu spotted what she was pointing at - a tiny creature no more than half a meter tall, shuffling amidst the piles of wreckage. Upon closer inspection, the creature seemed to be a bizarre one - its body was made of various machine parts, held in a vaguely humanoid shape by quicksilver-like fluid. As it moved around, the metal scraps that clung to its body would fall off, only for it to reattach them.

As the kids moved closer to investigate, they witnessed the strange creature pluck a nearby flower, before carefully laying it on the ground amidst a neatly arranged pile of its kin. As the robot knelt morosely before its creation, Yu and Kana couldn’t help but notice that the pile seemed almost like a tribute of sorts...which made sense once the Angels realized that they were surrounded by massive piles of scrap metal.

A chill ran through their bodies. They had never thought about how scary junkyards would look for metallic constructs like robots. To the metallic creature before them, the junkyard was probably akin to a mass grave.

As they watched the little creature shuffle around, shedding metal bits as it searched for more flowers to add to its memorial, the Nebulous Angels’ hearts tightened. If they could describe it in one word, it would be pathetic. They felt bad for the thing - and so, they decided to intervene.

The metallic being picked a sky-blue flower, deciding to adorn the center of its memorial with it. Its simple mind couldn’t fully comprehend the situation it was in - the creature had simply woken up here, surrounded by the remains of its kind. But even a creature as primitive as itself knew how to pay respects for the dead.

As the creature slunk over to its flower collection, it noticed two shadows that hadn’t been there before. Turning around, it saw Yu and Kana standing over it, sad smiles on their faces and bunches of flowers grasped in their hands.

So, for the next ten minutes, Yu and Kana ambled around, helping this peculiar being add to its memorial. Once the entity had seemingly decided that the miniature garden was big enough, it simply stood in front of it and knelt. Deducing that the machine was once again paying tribute to the piles of scrapped machines surrounding it, Yu and Kana got to their knees and knelt silently as well.

However, they could only afford to spend so long with the creature - they had a job to do. So, it wasn’t long before they stood up and prepared to take their leave. Before that, however, they noticed the creature looking up at them with its beady, marble-like eyes, waving its stubby quicksilver-like arms at them.

So, they knelt down and held out their hands as a farewell gesture. The creature didn’t do anything more than grasp their fingertips and give them a small shake - prompting the two to giggle at the foreign sensation.

And with that, they left the metallic entity to its own devices and took their leave.

 

Yu and Kana slowly walked through the dark hallway, taking care to tread carefully. The halls of the abandoned community center they had just found were dark and damp,  the lights having long since gone out. There were very few windows as well, much to the Angels’ chagrin.

If they were being honest, neither of them really knew what they were doing there. They had simply decided to check it for survivors - and so far, they were having no luck. They did, however, find a broken vending machine, the contents of which they couldn’t help but guiltily collect. If the place was abandoned, and the machine was spilling its contents everywhere, it wasn’t really stealing...right?

As they continued walking, Kana squirmed as a bead of sweat rolled down her face. “It’s...so warm…”

Yu frowned. Indeed, it was abnormally warm and humid in here. He had visited community centers a couple of times, and although they were quite warm, they weren’t _this_ warm. “Hm. Yeah, why _is_ it so warm in here?”

Kana opened her mouth to reply, only for a rather large blob of water to fall from the ceiling and land in her open mouth.

Her eyes widened in surprise...then she emitted a muffled scream. Whatever she had just gotten a mouthful of wasn’t water - it was some kind of oily fluid which burned the inside of her mouth. A horrific sensation struck her taste buds like lightning - whatever that fluid was, it tasted like a horrendous cocktail of sewage, organic waste, and rotting flesh. Not that Kana had actually tasted any of those things before - the liquid just tasted like what they had smelled like.

She immediately spat it out, coughing and gagging all the while. Even after she had spat it out, the burning sensation still lingered, along with the horrible taste. Even her throat felt like she had just gargled battery acid.

As Kana doubled over, choking and coughing, Yu ran over to her and grabbed her so she didn’t fall over. “W-what was that?”

Kana couldn’t say anything as she continued coughing.

Yu’s eyes widened in fear as he looked around. Something wasn’t right here. As he looked, his boot stepped on something soft.

_Squish._

The boy froze before looking down at his feet. The thing he had stepped on was pink, squishy, and wet...it almost looked like an _organ._

Yu’s mind raced. He had no idea what something like that was doing here, but it was enough to make him incredibly scared. As he slowly backed away from it, he jumped as the thing moved, slinking away into the darkness.

In a single motion, he drew his sword and willed it to light up. Before, he hadn’t seen a real reason to light up the halls, but his suspicions had been raised. As the light illuminated the hallway, what he saw nearly caused his blood to freeze.

Lining the walls were innumerable fleshy tendrils, forming a visceral web that covered the hallway. Fortunately, the tendrils only seemed to start at this point, but they were still nauseating to look at - clumped, tangled masses of undulating flesh, veins and tendons, all intertwined with pulsating sacs of sickly yellow pus. As Kana looked directly above her, she made a strangled squeaking noise as she saw that one of the sacs above her had ruptured. Realizing what that meant, she went pale and immediately threw up her breakfast as Yu took stuttering, shaky breaths.

Before the siblings could do anything else, the tendrils all started to move around. Then, they suddenly slunk away, retreating down the hallway.

As terrified as they were, the Nebulous Angels were also confused at what had just happened. And with that confusion came frustrated curiosity. _What were those?_

However, they didn’t need to take any more than twenty steps to see the source of the bizarre tendrils. And needless to say, they regretted it instantly.

All of the tendrils had slunk away to the same place - into the community center’s dimly-lit swimming pool. But the pool wasn’t filled with water - rather, it was occupied by _something_ that was obviously not water. Within the pool, a gigantic mass of writhing flesh, bone and organs heaved unsteadily as the tendrils were absorbed into it. As the mass churned, it produced fleshy growths which formed into hand-like protuberances, grasping at the edges of the pool. The Nebulous Angels were frozen in absolute terror as the blob writhed and undulated some more, its surface warping and shifting. Soon, dozens of fleshy, eyeless faces stared at the two children, their expressions frozen in a permanent scream.

As their hearts started pumping blood through their paralyzed bodies again, the Nebulous Angels did what any sane ten-to-eleven year olds would have done.

They ran screaming in the opposite direction. They ran like the wind, praying that they could get as far away from that... _thing_ as possible. But judging from the deep, distorted roar that echoed from behind them, and the repeated fleshy pounding noises that followed, that would be harder than they thought.

 

Yu and Kana burst out of the community center’s entrance, practically hyperventilating. As the two of them collapsed on the ground and started slowly edging away from the entrance, they both prayed that they had escaped from that thing.

However, judging from the fleshy tendrils reaching out of the entrance, apparently their prayers hadn’t been answered.

The abandoned building shuddered as the horrific creature oozed its way out of the front entrance, tearing down the sliding doors in the process. Now that it was no longer lying in a swimming pool, the Nebulous Angels could see the house-sized entity in all of its disgusting detail. The creature had taken on a shape that could only be described as “marginally humanoid”, its gigantic fleshy body shifting as it attempted to maintain its standing form. Its body seemed to be composed of not only flesh, bone, and organs as they thought - a viscous, black sludge seemed to make up at least some parts of its mass. The creature shuddered, translucent fluids dripping off of its heaving body as numerous holes opened in its flesh, seemingly drawing in air. Then, its body shifted again, numerous bulging eyeballs erupting from its surface as it grew a large maw full of crooked teeth.

The thing was magical. There was no doubt about it, judging from the magical aura it possessed. However, the Nebulous Angels didn’t really care at that point. It took all of their willpower not to wet their pants at the sheer _wrongness_ that thing radiated.

Then the smell hit them. They had no idea how they had only noticed now, but the creature exuded an unbelievably horrific smell - akin to sewer waste mixed with weeks-old rotting meat. That wasn’t even counting how the thing seemed to make the air heavy and humid in its presence - which only made the smell worse. In response to this sensory violation, the contents of the Nebulous Angels’ stomachs were forcefully ejected as the siblings both threw up on the spot.

In response, the creature turned towards them. Its many eyes shifted wildly as fleshy tendrils started extending from its form, aimlessly grasping at the air. Then, its body crackled with lightning as it discharged bolts of searing light in every direction.

Yu and Kana yelped and leapt around, nimbly avoiding all of the blasts. Within mere seconds, the grassy earth below them had been turned into a checkerboard of craters.

The visceral mass roared as it aimlessly swung its tendrils all around it, flattening grass and leveling trees in the process. As it turned its attention towards Kana, the girl squeaked in fright and attempted to run. However, the creature extended a fleshy appendage in a lightning-fast motion, striking her squarely in the stomach and sending her flying into a tree hard enough to snap it.

Kana groaned in pain and attempted to get up, only for her muscles to fail her. Evidently being practically paralyzed by fear didn’t help when recovering from pain.

As the creature roared and barreled towards her, effortlessly bulldozing through all the trees in its path, Yu leapt in front of his injured sister. Raising his hands, his eyes blazed with blue light as he prepared to block the brunt of the impact. He grit his teeth - this was going to hurt.

However, to their surprise, the creature extended numerous bony spines that dug into the ground. Barely ten meters away from them, the thing skidded to a stop, its titanic oozing body looming over the children. The many eyeballs sank into its body again, until there were only two left. Despite the wild, feral look in them, the two eyeballs regarded the kids with some form of curiosity. Its gaping mouth chomped at the air aimlessly, but the action seemed more instinctual than threatening.

Despite the cold fear gripping them, the Angels were intrigued. Why had it stopped? And why was it just staring at them? At this distance, all the creature had to do was raise a leg and squash them both like insects...so why did it not attack?

Then it hit them. What was it that their parents had said? They had believed that there wasn’t a single evil being on this planet. So, since this creature at least _seemed_ sentient...could it be subjected to that belief, too? Could it be more peaceful than it looked?

The creature towered over them, causing the Angels to worry - if it were to topple over, it would easily smash them both flat. However, it soon backed away and extended innumerable hand-like appendages from its flesh, which proceeded to wildly claw at the air. The creature staggered around in confusion, its hands starting to tear at its own flesh. Its body convulsed, and several more eyes and mouths emerged from its flesh.

As the ground shook from its staggering footsteps, Yu and Kana couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity. As terrifying as the creature was, it was obvious that it was in incredible pain. And when they saw something suffering...it was their duty to help it.

As the creature collapsed in a dribbling heap, seemingly tired from its outburst, its eyes shifted and focused as it registered nearby movement. Yu and Kana slowly approached the creature, raising their hands to show it that they meant no harm.

The writhing mass hissed as it attempted to “breathe” through numerous orifices that suddenly perforated its body. This action produced some form of sickly gas which accentuated the pungent aroma surrounding it - to the point where each breath filled the siblings’ mouths with the taste of rot. However, they swallowed their disgust and kept walking, until they stood mere meters away from the bizarre entity.

The creature gurgled as its eyes looked around in confusion. Its mouths stopped biting at the air, many of them vanishing outright. As Yu looked at his sister in concern, Kana just nodded adamantly. With a steely gaze in her eyes, she looked the visceral being in its many eyes and extended a hand.

The creature’s convulsions slowed. Then, it extended a fleshy appendage of its own, which slowly reached towards Kana. In reality, she was shaking in her boots, but she was hoping with all her heart that the creature was friendly all along.

As the two beings reached towards each other, there was a gurgling noise from within the fleshy creature. Then, its belly ruptured, spilling an abnormally large amount of steaming, bloody organs onto the ground.

At the sight of this, Kana turned as white as a sheet while Yu put his hands over his eyes. Then, the smell - which had more than doubled in intensity - hit her like a sledgehammer. Instinct overrode her thinking as she collapsed on her knees, coughing and retching. Her body wanted to vomit, but she had nothing left to throw up.

The gigantic fleshy creature slunk backwards in surprise, pulling its spilled organs along with it. As Kana steeled her nerves and looked up at the creature, she noticed from its myriad of eyes that it almost seemed saddened by her reaction. Amidst more instinctual retching, she coughed out reassuring words. “I’m sorry...you aren’t disgusting...I promise. It’s just that I...I can’t…I can’t...”

Yu put a hand on his sister’s shoulder to reassure her. Feeling her brother’s faith in her, Kana’s breathing stabilized and she regained her composure. This time, the siblings reached out together, offering their acceptance to the creature.

Hesitantly, the being inched towards them. Then, it extended several appendages and touched the two children’s hands, wrapping its tendrils around their fingers with a surprising amount of gentleness. Somehow, in that moment of contact, both of the Nebulous Angels were briefly able to feel its thoughts - it was angry, scared, lonely...all of the things that the siblings hated to be.

As the fleshy tendrils tenderly wrapped around their hands, the creature oozed a yellowish froth from numerous orifices on its body - and, to their surprise, it began to weep. No strange sludge, no spilling of organs - its eyes simply leaked pure, clear tears no different from their own.

“It’s okay.” Yu told the creature, touching its churning body with his other hand. “You don’t like being alone, do you? Well, we’re here for you now.”

Kana did the same. “If all you want is some comfort...we can give it to you.”

The creature gurgled again as more eyes emerged from its flesh, each of them shedding tears. Its mouths stopped biting entirely and simply closed.

Suddenly, the Nebulous Angels felt a strange feeling within the creature, like a uniting of consciousnesses. Then, to their surprise, it opened its mouths and spoke in a warbling, raspy whisper.

“...thaaa...thaaank...youuuuuu...”

At this, the Nebulous Angels forced smiles onto their faces to reassure it. In response, the creature attempted to imitate them, forming its main “face” into a crooked smile as its body relaxed.

However, soon it noticed that the Nebulous Angels were carrying _swords_. Its simple, tempestuous thoughts swirled aimlessly, but it managed to align its mind long enough to decide on what it wanted to do.

The creature pulled its tendrils away from the Nebulous Angels’ hands. Then, it extended two more tentacles and pointed them at the swords strapped to their belts, before pointing them at itself.

The children were confused. “W-what?”

The numerous eyes across its body gazed at the siblings with longing looks. As it seemed to gather its thoughts again, its mouths opened as one.

“...eee...eennnn...eeeennnnd…meeeeee...pleeease…”

The Nebulous Angels backed up in shock as their minds immediately rejected the idea. However, the creature put its tendrils back on their hands - and they suddenly felt a glimpse of what the fleshy entity was feeling. Its mind was not one consciousness - it was many, all trapped within a fleshy cage. The many minds producing its thoughts all strained against their prison and each other, to no avail. They were constrained, and desired freedom. And it seemed that the freedom that they sought could only be attained once the disgusting, oozing sack of flesh that served as their vessel was destroyed.

As the creature silently pleaded with them, the Nebulous Angels took a shaky breath and sighed. They hated the very notion of killing, but if it was this creature’s request...well, they would do it.

So, they whispered their farewells to the creature and drew their swords, willing them to blaze like newborn stars. As the creature watched on in anticipation, the Angels’ eyes flared to life, the blinding blue light that they emitted making their tears glimmer like radiant sapphires.

And with that, they stabbed their swords into the creature, willing them to discharge as much magic as possible so they could give it a swift end. And apparently it worked - mere seconds later, crackling blue fire swept over the creature’s body. It apparently didn’t feel any pain even as the flames started breaking it down, managing a simple wave before its smoldering remains collapsed in a heap.

The siblings took a deep breath and sheathed their swords. Even if it was at the creature’s own request, they still felt a pang of guilt for what they had done. As they gazed at the remnants of the strange entity, something caught Yu’s eye.

There was an _arm_ sticking out of the scorched flesh.

Immediately, Yu grabbed it and pulled, revealing a _partially intact Nano body_ inside of the charred remains. It was liquefied in many places, but it was still recognizable as a Nano.

Panic set in as they drew their swords and started hacking away at the gory remains. Digging through bones, organs, and flesh, their fears came true as they unearthed body after body, most of which were horrendously deformed and at least partially assimilated into the creature’s flesh.

_That wasn’t an ordinary creature._

As they realized the true nature of the creature they had just met, the horror of what they had just done set in. They hadn’t killed a suffering beast. They had killed a horrific, forced fusion of _Nanos_ \- of _their own kind._ How had such a terrible amalgam come to be? _Why_ would the planet create such a tortured creature?

Amidst the scorched pile of blood and gore, the Nebulous Angels collapsed to their knees, their swords clattering to the dirt as hundreds of traumatizing thoughts assailed their minds at once.

They spent the rest of the day kneeling there motionlessly, lost in a catatonic daze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The metal creature that the Angels found was a more recent addition to my plans. It was inspired by a bizarre combination of _Pokemon's_ Meltan, a copious amount of the main theme from _Nitrome's_ Rustyard. and Mario Ramirez's fanmade Mega Man video, _Let There be Light_.
> 
> I clearly remember imagining the basis for the strange amalgamate creature (affectionately referred to as "fleshboi" during development). It was during a particular, sleepless, caffeine-saturated night, from which several other ideas also sprung forth. Contrary to many people I know, I actually need sleep - so I decided never to do that again.
> 
> In terms of inspiration, the creature was inspired by a number of things. Off the top of my head, I can name _Undertale's_ Amalgamates, _Terraria's_ Wall of Flesh, _Terraria Calamity's_ Perforators/Ravager, Rod Reiss' giant titan thing fron _Attack on Titan_ , etc. It was my first time attempting to make something feel particularly disgusting, and personally I'm fairly satisfied with the result.
> 
> Also, the part where Kana gets a mouthful of amalgam juice was not in my original plan. It was an idea that my friend suggested while I was discussing the chapter with them. Needless to say, I have some pretty interesting friends.


	11. Ruin 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had no idea what I was doing here. This chapter is pretty short and is mostly just filler, since I needed a place to dump all of the half-formed ideas that I didn't want to expand on but still wanted to use. It's not the best, but I can't be bothered to improve on it. I'd prefer to move on.

_ Weeks later… _

It was a chilly night on Territe, and the sky was mostly obscured by the clouds. What little moonlight shone through bathed the fields in eerie radiance.

Under a tree, a campfire burned brightly, the winds doing little to extinguish its flickering flames. Xander was sitting beside the fire, lost in thought.

“We didn’t make a lot of progress today. We’re going to work harder tomorrow.”

Melody, who was sitting beside him, barely lifted her head. “There’s no point. We’re not going to make it, anyways. Why bother?”

Xander grit his teeth. Ever since a day ago, Melody had been acting incredibly oddly, like she had lost all hope. This was far from normal - the normal Melody was the definition of a ray of sunshine, and would almost never give up. Even her eyes had dulled - they now looked nothing like the shimmering teal gemstones they usually looked like.

Xander had felt a disturbance in the planet’s magic a bit earlier - like a solar flare on the sun’s surface - so he had deduced that this odd behavior might have had an affect on his sister. Still, it pained him to see her like this.

“We’re going anyways. You can try to convince me otherwise, but I’m not budging. We’re going to make it.” Xander grumbled. As much as he wanted to comfort his twin, he felt some kind of invisible force suppressing his thoughts and making his words more blunt than he would have liked. Well, in all fairness, he was quite frustrated. In this dismal state, Melody would barely move at all, forcing Xander to literally carry her around.

Melody shook her head, plucking a few strings on her harp. “No…just stop. Don’t waste any more of your effort on this pointless journey. You are tired, are you not?”

Xander fought to maintain his resolve as Melody’s words washed over him. Because of her magical specialties, she could be incredibly convincing when she wanted to. Now, combined with the melancholic, magic-infused notes she played, her voice compelled Xander to just lay down and stop their journey. However, he steeled his nerves, his mind remaining focused on his task.

“Can it. The only pointless things here are your inane mutterings.” Xander spat bitterly. “I don’t have to do anything you say. And I am taking you with me.”

“Just let your sister rest easy…”

Xander punched a nearby tree in anger. “You’re not my sister, though.”

Whoever it was that was standing before him, it sure as hell wasn’t Melody. Xander had lived with his twin for his entire life, and he knew for a fact that she would never behave like this. Not a chance.

But even though there seemed to be a nagging voice in his head, telling him to just abandon her here, Xander adamantly refused. If there was even the smallest chance that his dear sister was still in there somewhere, he was willing to tolerate dragging Melody around with him.

Yet looking at the entity with his sister’s appearance, Xander sighed as he saw the lifelessness in her eyes. If he didn’t find a way to bring Melody back soon, he was in for a rough time.

 

The next morning, hordes of animals frantically ran for their lives as rays of magical energy razed their former home to the ground. The forest was alight with burning flames, but those were the least of their worries.

Standing in the middle of it all, Mitama had her sword raised. The silver-haired warrior’s eyes were dull as always, but her entire body was crackling with tendrils of multicolored lightning. Without so much as a word, she swung her blade, unleashing countless rays of destruction in every direction. The magical tsunami consumed everything, vaporizing trees and tearing through the very ground. Even the air itself seemed to be blasted away by the mystic surges she discharged.

However, Mitama’s mind was cloudy and fevered. It had been mere hours since they had stepped into that river - where countless arcs of magical energy had forced themselves into their bodies. The feeling that ensued was terrible - they felt like the two of them were overflowing with magic, and would burst at any moment. Both of them had heard that discharging too much magic could be catastrophic for their well-being, but magical overload was something that they didn’t know existed.

Mitama remembered that moment, where both of them had collapsed in the river and tried to think about their predicament. And after that...it was foggy. During that moment, something had taken over their minds. A strange, invisible force had smothered their thoughts, compelling them to discharge their pent-up power.

And they had. That was the reason that the forest near that river no longer existed.

However, even as they ran around, more magical energy kept pouring into their bodies and making them feel unbelievably sick. And in that moment, something had clicked. Their minds had become overcome with unrestrained aggression - the force fogging up their thoughts urging them to turn their weapons against the world itself. 

Unable to control themselves, the two of them had aimlessly wandered, unleashing their magic on everything they could see. Even then, the magical overload would not stop - it was like the world was forcing more magic into them as they discharged it in the form of mass destruction. They knew that this torture would end once they discharged all of their excess magic. But in their fevered state, that idea had been twisted. Now, the sisters were powerless to control their own minds - minds that believed their torment would end once they had laid waste to everything.

Mitama watched idly as her subconscious mind took full control of her body, commanding it to incinerate everything in her line of sight. She had already annihilated several forests - this was just another target. Trees, animals, even the earth itself - nothing would be spared. Everything had to burn.

She was mildly aware of her actions, though she was powerless to control them. All she did was hope that it all ended soon, and that she could regain control of herself before she caused too much destruction.

Next to her, Hibiki cried out in pain as her body became wreathed in polychromatic flames. The younger mage had it even worse off than Mitama due to already storing massive amounts of magical power within herself. Now, not only did she feel ready to explode at any second, she felt like her flesh itself was melting.

Overcome with searing heat and unable to think straight, Hibiki screamed as she raised her wand, firing off countless meteors of light which sailed every which way. Whenever one of her magic comets landed, it would detonate with the force of a nuclear explosion, erasing enormous swaths of land off the map. Without even knowing it, Hibiki had probably obliterated several entire landmarks.

As the titanic craters in the distance got deeper by the second, Hibiki panted amidst the deafening blasts ringing through the air. Like her sister, she was vaguely aware of her actions - and they horrified her. Even in her irrational, overloaded state, Hibiki still managed to shed tears for all of the life she had probably erased. She’d probably never be able to atone for what she had just done.

But for now, both sisters were powerless to do anything about it. All they could do was follow the impulses governing their minds and obliterate everything in sight.  _ Destroy. Turn everything to ashes. Burn everything, until there is nothing left. _

They wondered when they would be free from this torment.

Hopefully they would still had an intact world to call home when it ended.

 

Sophia idly traced on the tree with her sword. 

It had been an hour since she had seen all of those massive explosions go off in the distance. There was only one person who could create explosions quite like those - maybe Hibiki had gotten really upset? But what she did know was that Hibiki was alive - and that she was in that direction.

However, the planet had other plans for her. A sudden flare of magical energy had somehow warped her who-knows-how-many kilometers away from her original position. While she was now closer to Electi Terram, she was also farther away from Hibiki.

And when she arrived at her new position, she had been greeted with an unwelcome sight.

“He is dead.” Sophia muttered, speaking into her microphone. “I’ve buried him as well as I could. He had always said he wanted to end his life under a tree…”

Magnus Aurelius. The Magnum leader, the world’s strongest mage, and Sophia’s own father. Yet, Sophia had still found him lying dead in the ashen field that she had been warped into, surrounded by what looked like the remains of some of his men. Judging from the incredible surges of magic in the area, the scorched earth, and the condition of Magnus’ body, his death had not been a peaceful one.

Sophia stared bitterly at the makeshift grave she had dug. “My father deserved better than this. All things must die, but he deserved to die peacefully, surrounded by his companions and loved ones. Ah...sometimes fate is cruel.”

After kneeling for a bit, she got up and dusted her robe off before picking up Magnus’ bladed staff. “Rest in peace, father. May your spirit find peace in a better world.”

Sophia realized that her words might have been unreasonable, considering how good their world had been. The key words were “had been”. Right now, their planet wasn’t exactly the most hospitable place around.

The mage suddenly looked around as she registered a sort of pressure being exerted on her. Then, her eyes widened as she felt some kind of energy flowing into her, making her skin tingle and her body heat up. Identifying the strange power as magical energy, she realized that her body was quickly being oversaturated with magic.

She bit back a curse. This wasn’t good. She had studied the nature of magic for a long time, and she had a vague idea of what magical overload could cause. Yet even as she planned her escape from this magic-saturated place, she felt a twinge of curiosity.  _ What...is magical overload really like? _

Sophia had sought out new knowledge for her entire life, especially knowledge concerning the mysterious world of magic. Yet even she knew that this was too dangerous to test. It posed a massive threat to her life.

However, as she turned to leave, she realized that her hand had started glowing white. Then, as her fingers seemed to become reduced to raw magic, they started melting like candle wax. Rather than panic, Sophia stared at her melting hand with a kind of mesmerized interest. 

Then as soon as it started, her hand was back to normal.

“Peculiar. I didn’t feel any pain from that.” Sophia mused. “I still feel abnormally hot, though. Of course, magical overload is expected to have rather bizarre effects on beings made of magic. I’ll try my best to avoid any more exposure to magical concentration, since Territe’s magic seems to have been warped even more as of late. But if I cannot avoid it...I’ll make sure to record as much as I can.”

And with that, she hefted her father’s weapon, turning it in her hands. The bladed staff had evidently served Magnus a very long time, and Sophia could feel a sort of power radiating from it. She wasn’t about to use it, however - she would just stow it away in her remote storage and hold on to it, as a memento of her father.

So, after doing just that, Sophia turned away from the grave she had just made, resuming her journey as her pale hair fluttered in the ashen wind.

 

“R-run!” Kana panted. “They’re coming! They’re coming!”

Next to her, Yu nodded, his face as white as chalk. In the middle of the broken village, the two kids ran like their lives depended on it. After the fiasco with that fleshy amalgamate, it had taken the kids’ psyches some time to recover. However, now another problem had surfaced. Some terrible monster had been chasing them for the past twenty minutes, its mere presence saturating their blood with cold, distilled fear.

...Or so their magic-fevered minds believed. In reality, there was nothing chasing them. There wasn’t even a single living being within several kilometers of them. The formless entity hunting them down was nothing but a figment of their imagination, multiplied a hundredfold by the region’s concentrated magic.

Yu gasped for breath as he felt the creature draw near. His entire body was charged with adrenaline, and his heart was pounding. Meanwhile, Kana dashed over broken support beams and crater-ridden roads, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

Just as Yu caught up with his sister, Kana yelped and skidded to a stop. Yu noticed and did the same - just barely stopping himself from hurtling off the cliff that he had somehow failed to notice. The edge of the narrow precipice crumbled at the action, the chunks of rock falling a hundred meters to the rocky ground below.

Kana gulped as Yu tried to steady his breathing. They looked behind them to see how far that nightmarish creature was - only for a sudden jolt of fear to stop them.

“We have no choice!” Yu whispered fearfully. “We have to fight that thing!”

Kana turned even paler at the prospect. Forcing her eyes to look towards the creature, she was surprised to see that there was nothing there. There was nothing standing before them - no monster menacing them. Yet that space still exuded an incredibly strong aura which instilled a terrible, uncontrollable fear in her.

“Yu.” Kana said slowly, grabbing her brother by the arm. “Turn around and face the same direction that I’m facing.”

Her brother steeled his nerves and did as she said. Immediately, his face was stricken by an expression of terror, but he stood firm.

“Listen to me.” Kana told him. “I don’t think that thing is real. It’s just something in our imaginations - but that fear we’re feeling is real. But we can’t let that control us. Remember that book that Sophia read to us? Fear is the mind-killer.”

Yu started uncontrollably hyperventilating, yet his eyes still glowered with a spark of resolve. “I-I understand. I’ll do my best.”

As the imaginary beast approached, the siblings’ hearts started beating even faster - so fast that they were worried that their hearts would just explode on the spot. The fear crept over them, its cold hands grabbing them and paralyzing their entire bodies. Ice crept through every inch of their beings, and their breathing became shaky and unstable. Yet through all of this, they held their ground - even though it took every gram of their willpower not to turn tail and run.

Once the invisible menace was almost upon them, the Angels’ thought processes completely shut down. All they could do was grab each other’s arms tightly and hope it ended quickly.

Sensing weakness, their oppressor lunged at them. And with that, the creature harmlessly passed through them...and was gone.

Slowly, the Nebulous Angels’ minds began working again. All they could do was stare at each other and smile tiredly before the trauma they had just experienced took its toll. At the edge of the ruined village, the children collapsed, unconscious.

Right before their minds shut down, they shared an optimistic thought.

_ Hey, our hearts are still beating. We’re still alive. And that’s what matters. _

 

Ken collapsed to his knees amidst the piles of snow, trying to get his bearings as the world spun around him. Next to him, Yuki was trembling as she did the same.

It had barely been a minute since they had stepped into the snowy field - what it was doing in the middle of an otherwise-autumnal area was beyond them. However, they had already become struck with a bizarre sickness that made them want to throw up. Ken panted heavily as the world melted in and out of color, the objects that had once looked normal now twisting and taking on new forms.

As Ken watched on in a daze, everything started transforming before his eyes. The snowflakes turned into dead insects. The trees became strange twisting metal pipes, alight with blazing flames. The earth twisted and the sky swirled, transforming the world itself into a bizarre canvas of abstract art, pulsating with vibrant, unnatural colors.

Ken’s heart was pounding, but he calmed himself as he ran his hands through the piles of dead bugs at his feet. They were icy cold and crumbled at the touch - which was enough evidence for Ken to deduce that this mystifying illusion wasn’t true.

Then he turned towards Yuki, only for his heart to nearly stop. Instead of the familiar face he had known for his entire life, before him knelt a grotesque, formless mass of darkness. It was still humanoid, but it was painfully clear that it wasn’t a Nano - wisps of black vapor curled off of its skin, and its body was covered with far too many eyes.

“Y-Yuki?” Ken stammered.

The entity turned towards him, only for its many eyes to widen in shock. “Ken! I-Is that…”

Despite the fact that her voice sounded watery and unclear, Ken could still recognize it as Yuki’s. He was certain that Yuki was seeing something similar to him - and she was likely just as unsettled as he was. He wondered how he looked in Yuki’s eyes - judging from the fear radiating from her, evidently not so good.

He reached out his hand, flinching when the dark creature recoiled. “Yuki...it’s me. Come on.”

The formless entity shivered. “Y-you...if you’re really Ken...what was the width of the stream that flowed through our town?”

Ken smiled. Every single day of their childhoods, they had tried to jump over the river that ran through Yume - with varying degrees of success. It was only natural that both of them knew the specifics of the river by heart. “Ten meters and thirty-seven centimeters.”

That was all the evidence Yuki needed. “Oh...it  _ is _ you! Thank goodness…”

The two ran up to each other and shared a reassuring hug. Despite each other’s warped appearances, they were still as warm as the other remembered.

“You really scared me for a second, Yuki.” Ken told her. “I’m not sure what you’re seeing, but you look pretty weird right now.”

Yuki laughed. “I could say the same for you! Well, the entire world looks weird, but you’re  _ really  _ strange. In fact, I think you probably look stranger than I do.”

Ken raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

So, for the next hour, the pair sat together, describing each other’s illusionary forms in as much detail as they could - all in the hopes of seeing who’s form was more bizarre. As they laughed playfully and talked, it was evident that their appearances didn’t matter to each other - as long as they were still the same people, it didn’t matter. They cared for each other no matter what.

And eventually, the hallucinations stopped. Relieved, the pair just laid back and admired the stars, which had just emerged. Eventually, the two of them curled up happily next to each other, falling asleep amidst the piles of snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went into this chapter with virtually no plan, but Mitama and Hibiki's part of the chapter was the one that I had literally zero ideas for. The original idea was for magical overload to make them start feeling hopeless, but I wanted it to stand out. So after thinking a bit, I decided to go full ham and have them just become hyper-aggressive.
> 
>  _"Instead of the big sad they contract the big mad"_ \- DA830, during the planning of this chapter


	12. Ruin 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These ideas had been sitting in my planner for far too long. They had spawned from the same caffeine-saturated night that had created that amalgamate thing from before.

_Weeks later..._

Aurora. The silver city, a land of technological marvels. Once the only one of its kind, Aurora had nonetheless remained a shining example for those who wished to follow in its footsteps.

But now, the city was no more. The bustling streets were empty and worn. The wondrous buildings were in shambles. Aurora had once been a city that never slept - yet now, all was quiet.

Yet even an empty city could not be completely silent. Along the outskirts of a huge train terminal, a balcony overlooked the stormy grey ocean and the sparkling Prismite beaches that Aurora was so famous for. And from that balcony, relieved sobbing echoed through the empty station - the sounds of two siblings who had been reunited at last.

Kneeling on the ground, tender tears flowed down Xander’s face as Melody tearfully embraced her twin brother. Even though the day was cloudy, neither of them cared for it - all they were aware of was the overwhelming happiness of being together again.

It had barely been an hour since Xander sensed that the area seemed to massively weaken magic - which meant that whatever magical force possessing Melody had likely weakened as well. He wasn’t sure if it was in her eyes or her mannerisms, but he had felt like her despair had lessened a bit. So, without so much as a plan, he gave her one more speech in a desperate attempt to bring his sister back. Not even Xander was aware of what he had said - he had simply poured out his thoughts and emotions, laying them bare for all to see.

And to his utter surprise, the light had returned to Melody’s eyes. Just like that.

Neither of the siblings could remember the last time they had cried like this. Yet here they were, crying their eyes out.

“...Thank goodness…” Xander mumbled in a daze. “...I actually thought you were gone forever. Seeing you in that state...I…”

Melody sniffled. “That was so horrible...I was so worried that I would never be able to come back. But all thanks to you...I’m here. Thank you so much...hm, what should I do? Oh...I should make a song about it…”

Xander laughed through his tears. “Ah, that won’t be necessary. You were in need of help, after all. Is it not one’s duty to help people in need?”

Melody didn’t answer. She could only give a smile as she stumbled to her feet. Xander got up too, dusting himself off. As the two of them straightened their capes and picked up their belongings, Xander just smiled. “Welcome back.”

If things had ended there, the twins would have walked off towards their destination, their hearts alight with relief and joy.

Unfortunately for them, fate wasn’t done with them just yet.

Just as the twins turned to leave, there was a rumbling from deep below the ground. As the two of them frantically looked around for the source of the tremors, they both felt...something. It was the same feeling that they had both felt many times during their journey - the feeling of the planet’s unstable magic roiling and churning.

“W-what? What’s going on?” Melody asked, her face pale. “I can feel the planet-”

Xander took a deep breath. “Oh no.”

The twins cautiously stepped around as small fissures began to appear all around them. Then, the sparkling Prismite beach rumbled as flames began emerging from its shifting sands. As the twins backed up in surprise and fright, the earth seemed to buckle as the beach exploded, a torrent of boiling lava erupting from the fault that had formed in its center. All around them, the quakes intensified, numerous geysers of molten slag erupting from all around them.

Xander frantically scanned the area as Melody looked for an escape route. Noticing that the part of the city outside their immediate area was fine, she bit back a curse. “A lava-spewing earthquake happens, and it happens to be completely localized in this area? Give me a break!”

Xander grabbed Melody by the arm and pulled her back as another fissure appeared beneath their feet. The glowering crack immediately began spewing lava, forcing them to run into the abandoned train terminal. Unfortunately for them, the convection had already lit their capes on fire - forcing them to throw them aside.

The twins panted, running across the station platforms and leaping over train tracks. There didn’t seem to be any lava inside the terminal - but the tremors were still present, shaking the earth and causing debris to rain from above. As Xander dodged a falling hunk of concrete, Melody noticed the exit and pointed. “Look, there’s the exit! Come on, hurry!”

Xander raised his bow and prepared to make a break for it, but he noticed that there was something outside the station - and it was approaching fast. As he squinted at it, he realized what it was - a massive wave.

His eyes widened. “Melody, brace yourself!”

The twins quickly grabbed onto the nearest stable object as the wave struck, flooding the entire train station with water. Both of them held on for dear life, coughing and sputtering as their surroundings turned into a raging maelstrom. As more and more water entered their lungs, the twins started getting dizzy - but they persisted nonetheless.

Eventually, the turbulence died down. As the twins collapsed on the ground, choking and coughing up water, Melody’s eyes turned towards the exit - only for her to emit a whimper of despair as she saw that it had vanished. Xander realized that there was now no way out - while they had been dealing with the wave, falling debris had sealed up all of their potential exits.

The ground shook again, further weakening the unstable building. In the wet darkness of the train station, Melody and Xander got up and stood back-to-back. Adrenaline coursed through their body - both of them knew that this was a perilous scenario.

With a rumble, more debris tumbled from the ceiling. Xander raised his bow and shot some of the rubble out of the air, while Melody bolted out several rays of cerulean light that deflected some more of the falling chunks of metal and concrete. However, the place was not being friendly to them - like before, some invisible force was suppressing and weakening their magic. Exerting their magic was like trying to breathe with a plastic bag put over one’s face - doable, but inefficient and tiring.

The tremors intensified, burying the station under more rubble. It was evident that the entire building was on the verge of collapse. With no exit in sight and most of their magical powers gone, the two of them started considering their chances. They didn’t look good.

The rain of debris doubled in intensity, sending countless tons of rubble hurtling towards the twins. Xander yelled defiantly, unleashing everything he had in order to ward off the deadly hail. Melody panted as she did the same, unloading all of her magical power in an attempt to block or destroy the debris.

Yet after mere minutes of doing this, the Galante siblings were already beginning to tire. Already, Xander had nearly run out of magic, and was now frantically using what little magic he had left to empower his physical strikes, slashing apart the incoming debris. Meanwhile, Melody’s magic was faltering as well - her barriers were now unable to even withstand the strain of blocking falling metal beams.

While Melody yelped in pain as she felt a falling brick nearly snap her arm, Xander’s breathing became sharp and irregular. In the face of such a dire situation, he suddenly became aware of minor things that didn’t concern their current predicament. He noticed that his drawing bag was missing - presumably washed away by the raging currents that he had been subjected to mere minutes before. He also noticed that the water level was rapidly rising - it was now above his knees.

He wanted to focus...but he couldn’t. Random, innocuous thoughts flitted through his mind, overwhelming his senses. Were these a side effect of panic?

“Xander?”

Melody’s voice snapped him back to reality. Amidst the falling debris splashing into the water-filled space, Melody stared at him with a fearful expression on her face.

“...Yeah?”

“...Are we going to die here?”

Xander looked around, then sighed. He considered the state of the building, then the state of their actual beings. His mind processed all of that information - then made a conclusion.

“...Yes. We most likely are.”

Melody was silent.

Xander sighed bitterly as he barely deflected a falling window pane. “Tch...and we were so close, too. Just a little bit more...and we would have made it. How...very...unfortunate...”

Melody stared at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear, sorrow, and longing. “Oh...”

Then, as Xander was about to raise his bow to fight again, Melody made a strange request.

“Xander?”

“...Yes?”

“I’ll keep fighting until the end, I promise. But if we’re really...gonna die...can I please sing one last song?”

Xander couldn’t help but give her a sad smile. It made sense that one would want to die doing something they loved. “Of course. One last song...one more song, before it all ends.”

So, as the tremors intensified and the twins gradually burned their lives out trying to block the debris, Melody sang their final requiem. She sang with a level of emotion unmatched by anything she had sung in her entire life. She sang out all of her fear and despair, pouring out her raw emotions in the form of words and notes.

She didn’t need any magic to convey her emotions. Her words radiated with distilled anguish - the words of a person who knew their time was up.

The two of them kept fighting and dodging, even as falling support beams shattered their bones and shards of glass lacerated their flesh.

Melody kept singing.

The two of them collapsed into the water, their muscles useless and exhausted.

Melody kept singing.

The two of them feebly cried out as their limbs were pinned by chunks of concrete.

_Melody kept singing._

Xander coughed and sputtered as the dusty water flowed into his mouth, attempting to stand but lacking the energy to. He was done for. He had expended every last mote of his energy trying to survive...but it hadn’t been enough. At this point, he finally accepted his impending death, lying down as the world around him rumbled.

At that point, he heard one last line echo throughout the trembling ruin.

_“I will sing it forevermore!”_

And with that, there was a sickening crunch as the voice went silent.

Xander’s hollow stare registered the crimson flow rapidly diffusing throughout the water. Even though he knew it in his heart, it still took him a few moments to realize the gravity of what had just happened.

His sister was gone.

Even as his mind shut down and his tears began dripping into the bloodied water, Xander managed an optimistic musing. Melody had died first...but at least the world had spared Melody the pain of seeing her brother dying before her eyes. For something like that...he would rather shoulder that pain than wish it upon his sister.

And as the place shook again, Xander quietly laid down and closed his eyes while the entire train station collapsed.

“...See you in a bit, Melody...”

He felt a blunt impact on the back of his head, and everything went dark.

 

_Twenty minutes later…_

Yu and Kana strolled through the cloudy streets of Aurora, contentedly licking the ice cream that they had just made. The siblings had found an abandoned ice cream vendor that somehow still had electricity, so they couldn’t resist helping themselves. Unfortunately, the vendor’s owner was nowhere to be seen - the murderous, rogue robots that the siblings had taken care of seemed to indicate the reason for their absence.

As they walked through the city, the two of them couldn’t help but notice the sudden change in scenery. It was as if they had walked through an invisible barrier - with the silver city standing nobly on one side yet in ruins on the other. Buildings had been leveled, bridges had been snapped like twigs, and there was what appeared to be cooling lava pooled all over the place. Whatever had happened to this place, chances were that it had been exceptionally violent.

“I...I don’t like the look of this place.” Yu muttered. “I can’t sense any magical anomalies here, but who knows what happened to cause this?”

Kana nodded, her eyes alert and focused. Her hand was grasping the hilt of her katana, ready to draw it at any moment.

The two of them walked past countless ruined buildings and bubbling pits of slag, coughing and covering their faces as they inhaled the dusty air. Their boots splashed through the muddy, ankle-deep water that had seemingly flooded the whole area, some of the cold water soaking into their clothes and chilling them to the bone. Some of the water was flowing into the piles of slag, producing clouds of acrid steam that made it even harder to breathe.

All of a sudden, Kana put a hand on her brother’s shoulder to stop him. They had walked into what looked like a train station - or, at least what had _used to look_ like a train station. The building had probably been magnificent while it was standing - unfortunately, now it was naught but a pile of rubble.

But what Kana had stopped him for wasn’t the ruined station.

It was the two tattered, burned capes spread out at their feet. One red, one blue.

Yu slowly turned towards his sister. “These...these are…”

Kana just nodded. “Let’s search for them.”

So for the next twenty minutes, the two children scoured the station for any signs of their friends. When that failed to yield results, they just drew their swords and started blasting apart the debris littering the place. With flash after flash of shimmering light, the Nebulous Angels tore the ruins apart in search for Xander and Melody Galante.

And eventually, the twins came across a clue - Xander’s drawing bag. The bag had been half-submerged in the murky water, but it was still waterproof enough to preserve the sketches within. The kids knew that it wasn’t polite to go rummaging through other people’s things, but they couldn’t help but look at the artistic wonders that laid within the worn satchel.

Yu smiled sadly as he found a particular drawing - one of the Hoshizora family happily sleeping together on a hill. He still remembered that day fondly - the day he had met Xander and Melody. Ah, he wished that things were that simple now. He wished that he could go back to those happy days.

However, a tug on his sleeve jolted him back to reality. Next to him, an ashen-faced Kana slowly pointed to a pile of concrete boulders.

Yu stared at the pile, frigid cold gradually spreading through his body as he registered all of its oddities, one by one. First it was the familiar bladed bow that laid snapped in two underneath a metal support beam. Then it was the silver, stringless harp embedded into the ground. Then the crimson stains all over the floor. And finally, the trickle of scarlet fluid coming from underneath the rubble.

Panic and disbelief set in, the Nebulous Angels’ minds simultaneously fearing and rejecting the worst. Eyes alight with blue flames, the siblings heaved aside boulder after boulder, desperately trying to reach their friends.

They reached them, all right. But upon uncovering the Galantes and seeing their friends immobile and mangled beyond recognition, any hope that the twins were still alive instantly vanished. And this realization, combined with the gruesome scene laid before their eyes, all but destroyed their minds on the spot.

The drawing of the Hoshizora family fluttered to the ground as the two children collapsed to their knees.

All was silent except for the quiet sound of tears dripping into the water.

 

_One hour later..._

Sophia panted as she stumbled through the streets of Aurora, discharges of magical lightning constantly arcing off of her body. She had arrived in Aurora a day ago, which meant that she was now incredibly close to her destination. There was a fair chance that she could find some survivors in Aurora, as well.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t found anyone yet. And to make matters worse, she had stumbled into a park which happened to house a great deal of concentrated magic. The unstable energy had been clinging to her for the past hour, slowly sapping at her strength as it overwhelmed her. Fortunately, she seemed to have been able to mitigate its effects by constantly discharging the excess power.

However, that wasn’t to say that she had completely rid herself of the effects. She felt tired and sleepy, like how one might feel on a hot, rainy day. The mage had already been reduced to using her weapon as a walking stick.

“Hah...hah…” Sophia breathed into her mic. “No matter how much magic I discharge, more seems to flow into me just as fast. Everything feels hot...my body feels like it’s on fire. Is this what a “fever” would feel like for a human?”

She coughed and grimaced as she felt a sudden pain in her muscles. Looking around, she couldn’t see anything - but she was sensitive enough to magic that she could feel a sudden increase in magical concentration. Groaning, she raised her hands and doubled the amount of magical lightning she was discharging.

Yet the overwhelming magic was relentless. Sophia could feel her magical overload building, layer by layer. And this time, it seemed even worse than before. As she looked at her hands, she noticed that there were veins of glowing light pulsating beneath her skin. Not to mention, her skin itself was beginning to glimmer as well.

She took a step forward...then immediately fell on her face as her legs gave way. Her sword clattered to the floor.

As Sophia lay dazed on the ground, she realized that she couldn’t get up. Her legs felt like they were made of jelly. _Everything hurt. Everything burned_. That was all her mind could think of at the moment, as if every other thought had been obliterated and replaced with those two phrases.

Sophia became vaguely aware that her entire body was now glowing with an ethereal radiance. Looking at her hand, her eyes widened once she saw her fingers begin to shimmer and melt, droplets of pure magic dripping to the worn pavement below. It was like what had happened before - but this time, judging from how fast her hands were breaking down, it didn’t seem like it was going to stop soon.

She panted as she tried to move, but she felt like her nerves had been dissolved - even things like her breathing and heartbeat seemed to be forced. In fact, she was wondering if that had actually been what happened to her. It wouldn’t have been too far-fetched, considering that this was magical overload they were talking about.

“Hrghh...I…I’m not sure if I can make it out of this.” Sophia said in a strained whisper. “This bout of overload seems stronger than any other one I’ve experienced. This could very well be the end of my life. I could die here...alone, just like I was all those years ago...”

Yet, even when staring death in the face, Sophia smiled. “Well...in case anyone finds this recording device, I’ll do my best to describe what this feels like. It’s really all I can do now.”

So, as the minutes ticked by, Sophia quietly documented her experience as her body was broken down, bit by bit.

“I cannot move. I can barely feel anything. Even as my limbs melt, I feel no pain. All I can feel is the heat - unbearable heat building within me. This is tiring me...I’m already so tired…”

_One minute later…_

“Ahh...I...am melting. If too much magic enters one’s body, then it will start to break them down, reducing them to the raw magic that they’re made from. That’s...what’s happening to me. Everything has melted...I can’t feel anything anymore. If I could turn my head, I would look at my current appearance. Out of the corner of my eyes, I can see some kind of glowing white fluid spreading along the floor. Part liquid, part gas...is that what raw magic looks like? Was...that what I was made of?”

_Half a minute later…_

“Hot...too hot. My mind is going. I can’t...I can barely form my thoughts anymore. Not sure how long it is until my vital organs start breaking down. There’s so much fluid magic flowing everywhere...but I can see clear liquid dripping onto the floor as well.”

“...Am I crying? I can’t feel anymore…”

_Another half minute later…_

“My...vocal...chords...are melting. Just hold together for a bit longer, please!”

_Twenty seconds later…_

“I...It’s so bright. Vision...filled with light. World...saturated...with thousands of these...glowing motes of light. It’s...so...brilliant…”

_Ten seconds later…_

“...This...is...it. Can’t...hold myself together...anymore. My story...ends...here. At least...the view...is...wonderful. The world...is made of light…”

_Five seconds later…_

“...I’m...finished. If any...of...my...friends...are listening...to this, I...I’m sorry...I...couldn’t...make...it…”

Sophia was about to close her eyes, but out of her peripheral vision...she saw two familiar figures running towards her. Were they…

“Sophia!” Yu cried, running towards their friend with his sister right beside him.

Although, if the siblings were being totally honest, the sight of the mage’s condition was harrowing. Sophia was almost unrecognizable as a person, her form having been reduced to a vaguely humanoid, glowing blob hunched over on the ground. Even staring at their beloved friend’s face made them cringe a bit - Sophia’s hollow eyes bored into their own, and her mouth was partially melted together.

Yet despite her condition, Sophia cried out to them with a voice distorted by her melted vocal chords. “Yu! Kana! I...I...”

“Sophia! Sophia!” Kana practically screamed, rushing towards her friend with outstretched arms. “Thank goodness! You’re alive!”

The two children reached out to hug her...only for their arms to wrap around air.

A silver robe collapsed in a heap as the recording device clattered to the floor.

The Angels’ hopeful smiles slowly faded away as they stared at the spot where their friend had just been. A shrinking puddle of glowing fluid shimmered on the ground, and the air was alight with countless miniscule motes of twinkling light.

The two of them were completely stunned, unable to do anything but collapse to their knees yet again. This was the second time they had seen something like this today, and they didn’t take it any better than the first.

The next half hour was spent all alone in the broken street, quietly sobbing into the silver robe that had once belonged to their beloved friend.

 

_Two hours later…_

Hibiki panted as she darted into the dark hallway, her face ashen. Her left hand was clutching her right arm, trying to stem the flow of blood dripping from it.

Hearing heavy footsteps from the hallway behind her, she ducked behind a wooden door and peeked through a tiny crack. Sure enough, she saw her pursuers - a pack of bizarre creatures, the likes of which she had never seen before today. They possessed forms similar to that of other animals, and while their bodies varied wildly, there were a couple key traits they had in common. All of them seemed to have thick exoskeletons made of clear crystal, with matted white fur growing from any part of their bodies not covered by their crystalline armor. In addition, all of them had eyes that shone like spotlights, their multicolored glares piercing through the gloom.

The tallest and most humanoid of them, who seemed to be a leader of sorts, stepped forth, its eyes scanning the area. Hibiki couldn’t help but notice that its rough, jagged claws were stained with blood - _her_ blood.

The young mage had no idea what they were or why they were here. She had entered this abandoned apartment to check for survivors, only for those creatures to swarm from out of nowhere. It seemed that her use of magic had agitated them, considering that they hadn’t attacked her until she had tried to light up the halls.

Hibiki had been taken off guard, and one of those creatures had scored a wicked strike on her arm. Fortunately, she had managed to blind them with a magical flash and escape into the darkness - but for how long, she didn’t know. These creatures seemed to be hunting her relentlessly.

She steeled her nerves and willed herself to stop moving as she sensed one of the creatures slinking past the door she was hiding behind. In this state, she was in no condition to start a fight - that slash had pretty much sawed apart her right arm’s muscles, and had likely fractured her bones as well. Worse still, she felt...peculiar. She didn’t think that she had been poisoned, but an inexplicable feeling had begun to creep over her, like her DNA was being unraveled.

Hibiki shuffled a bit as a giant insectoid creature slowly pushed the door open, trapping her in a corner. As the creature clicked its mandibles and surveyed the room she was in, Hibiki started sweating as fear began creeping into her heart. Fortunately, these creatures didn’t seem to have a good sense of smell, otherwise they would have sniffed her out ages ago, especially with how much she was bleeding.

The creature shuffled around, aimlessly knocking over things as it searched for its target. Noticing that it was distracted, Hibiki decided to take a risk. Ever so slowly, she pushed the door closed and inched out of the corner, before pushing it open again.

If the creature noticed, it didn’t show it. _Thank goodness this door was still lubricated well…_

Trying to calm her frantic heartbeat, Hibiki slowly snuck out of the doorway. All of the other creatures had seemingly gone off to search elsewhere, since she was alone in the hallway. She slowly backed away from the hallway and turned towards the exit…

...only to hear a deafening roar as a pair of golden eyes shone out of the gloom.

Hibiki’s heart nearly stopped as the crystalline creatures burst into the hallways and started barreling towards her. She was surrounded from all sides except for the back, which had a window instead of a horde of murderous beasts.

She immediately made up her mind. Bracing herself, Hibiki leapt out of the window, tumbling out of the building amidst a shower of glass shards.

 

It was a dark, cloudy sunset in Aurora, the black clouds seemingly attempting to conceal the fiery orange sky. A frigid chill lingered in the air as Mitama snapped her fingers, causing flames to burst forth on the campfire she had just set up. Finding dry material for the fire was difficult, considering the fact that the land was blanketed in a half-meter thick layer of snow, but she had managed.

Just as she turned to fetch some snow for water, there was a crashing noise far above her. Then, a silvery-white shape hurtled into the snow, leaving an indentation in the fluffy white blanket.

“H-Hibiki?” Mitama asked incredulously. “What happened?”

As she approached her younger sister, her confusion quickly turned to horror. Hibiki’s arm was practically gushing blood, staining the snow around her pinkish-red. As Hibiki lifted her blood-stained hand away from the wound in her arm, she realized that it was no ordinary laceration. The wound was _sparking_ \- producing miniature flashes of light that spread through her body.

Before Mitama could question any of this, there was another crashing noise as a pack of entities leapt down from above as well. The animalistic beings now standing before them gazed at the sisters with blazing eyes full of contempt, their crystalline shells sparkling. As Mitama stared at them, she noticed the blood caking the claws of the one who appeared to be their leader. Putting two and two together, she practically exploded, her magic aura igniting with enough power to instantly melt the snow around her.

As the creatures roared and charged, Mitama drew her sword and lunged at them. A fox-like entity leapt at her, fangs bared, only for Mitama to impale it and toss it to the side. Just as it was about to get up, Mitama hacked its limbs off before messily bisecting it.

An insectoid creature skittered towards her, claws raised. In response, Mitama stabbed at it, shattering its exoskeleton before unleashing a blast of flame from the tip of her sword. While the creature shrieked as it was cooked from the inside out, a creature resembling a bear bounded towards her. Mitama dodged its first strike, raised her sword, and sawed it into three equal parts.

Mitama turned around just in time to see four of the creatures leap at her in a joint attack. They had barely piled on top of her for two seconds before an enraged cry was heard from under the heap of crystalline bodies. A whirlwind of flashing steel later, and Mitama had reduced all of them to a scarlet geyser.

Bits and pieces of the creatures rained around her as she raised her blood-soaked sword. As the remainder of the pack rushed her, she dashed in between them, savagely slaughtering them with a mixture of mechanical efficiency and ferocious brutality. As their blood and entrails rained around her, she didn’t even think twice about the massacre she was perpetrating. These creatures had severely wounded her sister. They deserved none of her mercy.

Even as she began to take heavy blows, Mitama didn’t falter. As the sky turned as blood-red as the snow, the pile of bodies around her grew. An armored snake reared back to strike, only for Mitama to grab a nearby body, chop off its arm, and shove it into the serpent’s open maw. While the creature choked on it’s comrade’s arm, Mitama pinned the creature to the ground with her sword before slicing it into bloody ribbons.

A turtle-like creature lunged at her and pinned her to the ground, its toothy maw snapping at her repeatedly. Without any hesitation, Mitama dropped her pinned sword, rammed her hand into its right eye socket, and tore its eyeball straight out of its head. As the creature shrieked in agony, Mitama grabbed her sword and pried its shell apart, before slicing open its belly and letting its organs spill all over the snow as it died.

Barely a minute later, the last few creatures collapsed in bloody piles as Mitama sized up their leader. The humanoid, armored creature was nearly twice her height and seemed to be smarter than the rest, judging from the fact that it actually tried to fight properly instead of just charging at her. As the two of them circled each other, looking for an opening, Mitama noticed the creature’s right arm tense. As she dodged the punch that followed, she immediately took the opening and lunged, striking an exposed chink in its armor and slicing its arm clean off.

To her surprise, the creature was unfazed. It swung back with its left arm, striking her in the chest and sending her flying into a dead tree.

Mitama groaned and got to her feet, only to see the creature jump at her with its fist raised. She managed to roll out of the way as the entity’s strike demolished the tree, following up with a fierce barrage of sword slashes. Each strike created more fractures in the being’s armor, until it shattered completely.

Just as the creature managed to grab her arm, Mitama rammed her sword into its belly and slashed upwards. However, the creature remained steadfast, picking her up and throwing her across the field. Mitama landed heavily in a snow bank, her sword clattering to the ground beside her.

As the creature lunged one more time, Mitama realized that she couldn’t get her sword in time - and grit her teeth as she decided what to do. Just as the creature practically landed on her, Mitama raised her hands and rammed them inside the incision she had made in its torso. Ignoring the pain from her bones fracturing and the deafening howls from her target, she shoved her hands further into the creature’s squishy innards, attempting to rip and tear anything she could feel. And apparently she had gotten lucky, because it was barely seconds before she pushed the creature over and ripped out its still-beating heart.

The creature roared in pain, flailing around as it attempted to take down its killer with it. However, Mitama decisively crushed its heart and used her magic to retrieve her sword. As the creature went through its final death throes, Mitama stared it down with an emotionless glare before ruthlessly hacking it to pieces.

After the creature had finally stopped twitching, Mitama looked around. The landscape was a mess of crushed snow and gore, with piles of mangled bodies lying around. Mitama herself was utterly soaked in blood, her sword still sizzling with magical light. She’d probably have to wash her clothes later...and take a bath.

However, that wasn’t her concern. She dashed over to her sister, who had been a safe distance from all of the fighting. However, when she got there, her heart practically stopped.

“Augh...Mitama...it hurts so much…”

Hibiki had become unsettlingly pale, her eyes wide and unfocused. Even though the wound in her arm had stopped bleeding, it was painfully evident that something was terribly wrong. Every now and then, her body would spark, producing a small puff of vapor. Strange, aurora-like radiance pulsated from beneath her skin.

“Wha..what’s going on?” Mitama asked urgently, kneeling down beside her sister. “Hibiki, talk to me!”

Hibiki opened her mouth to speak, only to cough into her sleeve. As she looked at her sleeve, now stained scarlet, she managed to talk in a whisper. “I…I’m not sure what’s going on. I can feel my body burning up...I think whatever that creature did to me is messing with its structure. Mitama...everything burns...it hurts…”

Mitama reached out her hand to feel her sister’s forehead. Although she instantly retracted it once Hibiki screamed in pain as a response, she had felt that Hibiki was deathly cold despite her claims. That was even more unsettling.

“Hibiki, what can I do?” Mitama asked. “Just tell me how I can help.”

“...This might not help, but I want you to try stabilizing my body. Every creature is made of magic...I’m no different. Maybe if you can...just...hrghhh…”

Hibiki cried out in pain again as her form flickered, temporarily becoming wreathed in arcs of lightning. Seeing this, Mitama’s heart tightened. She had no idea how painful that must be.

So, she followed Hibiki’s request and raised her hands. Willing herself to see Hibiki on a magical level, she was alarmed to see that Hibiki’s body was being rapidly distorted by an unknown force, like a lake during a rainstorm. Channeling her own magic, she attempted to smooth out the metaphorical wrinkles in her sister’s magic, creating a magical brace of sorts that held Hibiki’s magic in its proper form.

Minutes passed, and they weren’t seeing any difference. Hibiki had gone strangely quiet, occasionally whimpering whenever sudden bouts of agony wracked her body. Meanwhile, Mitama was getting desperate, racking her mind for any solutions to her dilemma.

“...Mitama?”

“What is it?”

Hibiki stared at her older sister sadly as lightning lit up her veins again. “I...I’m not sure if I’m going to make it out of this, Mitama…”

“Nonsense. Don’t say that. You’re going to live.”

The younger girl smiled sadly. “I sure hope so. But before it’s too late...just in case...I want to thank you. For everything you’ve done for me, over my entire life...I’d just like to make my gratitude known.”

“Hibiki, don’t talk like that. I’ve nearly lost you several times already. I don’t want to lose you for good this time…”

“I know...but I suppose I can’t do much but apologize about that…” Hibiki muttered, cringing as she felt her leg bones dissolve. “I’ll keep clinging to hope...no matter what...but sometimes, if fate wants something to happen, then…”

“Hibiki...no! You can’t go...not yet!” Mitama cried, tears welling to her eyes as her mind rejected the worst - and most likely - outcome of this predicament.

Wait.

_Tears?_

Mitama froze in shock before wiping her eyes. There were indeed tears coming from her eyes - real, genuine tears. After the trauma she had experienced as a child, she had been physically incapable of crying for over two decades now. Yet now...she was crying. What kind of bizarre turn of events was this? Had fate decided to give her back her tears, just so she could cry in her sister’s final moments?

“Mitama...you’re crying…” Hibiki muttered, twitching as her nerves started burning themselves up. “All those years...but you can finally cry now. That makes...me happy. You can show more of your emotions…”

Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar experience, Mitama broke down crying her eyes out - a lifetime of suppressed tears, all flowing out in one moment. Seeing this, Hibiki smiled sadly as she began crying too - blood mingling with her tears.

Mitama wiped the scarlet teardrops away from her sister’s eyes. “Easy now...stick with me, Hibiki. I’m not leaving you.”

Hibiki shuddered as parts of her flesh melted away, leaving nothing but wisps of magic in their wake. Blood began seeping out of the numerous perforations in her body, but Mitama hugged her tightly anyways. Even Mitama, who wielded exceptional powers, was powerless against the bizarre force slowly destroying her sister’s body.

Hibiki stared pitifully into her sister’s eyes. “I...can’t feel...anything…”

Mitama couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly. If she could have taken on Hibiki’s sufferings to spare her from this torment, she’d do so in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, that wasn’t an option here. Even though Mitama had secretly willed her magic to do so, nothing had happened.

As a frigid wind blew over the land, Hibiki shivered. Instinctively, Mitama hugged her tighter, trying to share her body heat with her sister. However, Hibiki wasn’t shivering just because of the chill - it was also because she had felt her organs dissolving one by one, leaving her with an alarming, nauseating sense of being literally _empty._

Hibiki’s breathing slowed. Then, her heartbeat did the same. As Hibiki exerted the last of her draining magic to regulate her breathing, Mitama stared at her through teary eyes. “Don’t give up. I’m here for you.”

Hibiki smiled. “I know. But...I don’t want to let go…”

“You don’t have to, Hibiki. You can hold on to me, forever…”

Both of them knew that was a lie, but they desperately _wanted_ to believe that.

Hibiki gasped as her heartbeat slowed to a crawl, then stopped entirely. Immediately, Mitama used her magic to grab hold of her sister’s heart, carefully using her magic to manually pump blood through Hibiki’s body.

Hibiki coughed again. “I...don’t want...to let...go…”

“Don’t let go…” Mitama whispered desperately.

Then, as Mitama kept manually cycling oxygen through Hibiki’s bloodstream, she felt Hibiki’s heart just...dissolve.

Hibiki’s eyes widened as she managed one last whisper.

“It’s...so bright...Mi...ta...ma...”

And the eternal light that had shone within Hibiki’s eyes finally went out.

Mitama could do nothing but stare in disbelief as her sister’s body went limp in her arms. She could barely bring herself to close her sister’s now-dull eyes before her emotions woke again, overwhelming her mind.

There wasn’t any other way to put it. Mitama cried her eyes out. She cried like she was a young child again, just like how she had cried when Hibiki had been taken all those years ago. Except now, she hadn’t just been taken for research. She had vanished off the face of the planet.

Mitama was barely aware of what she was even crying for. Was she crying at the cruelty of the world? At the fact that she was now alone? All she knew was that her soul was wracked with despair, anger, and a conglomerate of other upsetting emotions - and that her body was expelling these feelings through tears.

She cried...and cried...and cried. As dusk became night, her hysterical sobs faded into quiet whimpering, then silent tears. Her tears freezing on her face, Mitama finally ran out of energy and collapsed. Tightly embracing her fallen sister, Mitama’s tears slowed as they sapped the last of her strength. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, Hibiki’s body clutched in her arms.

And as she slept, a snowstorm swept over the area. While the flurries slowly buried the sisters, the world decided to give Mitama one more mercy. Rather than let her drown in her own misery, fate decided to reunite the two sisters.

So, as the storm intensified, bolts of magical lightning raining from the sky, the deed was done. A searing bolt of magical power struck the sisters in their sleep, instantly snuffing out the life of the sibling who was still alive.

Mitama’s execution was a swift and painless one.

Their lifeless forms, still embracing each other tightly, were buried underneath the snow.

 

_One hour later…_

Night had fallen over the snowy landscape. The wind and lightning had subsided, leaving the area completely silent.

Then, two anguished wails pierced the silence. Amidst the bloody snow, two small figures knelt hunched over the two corpses they had just found. Even after having the life erased from their bodies, Mitama and Hibiki still looked so...peaceful. They looked like they had simply fallen asleep together...except they had fallen asleep permanently.

As snow gently drifted down from above, the Nebulous Angels started sobbing uncontrollably, collapsing pitifully into the snow.

The lonely night resonated with their cries - the despairing cries of two children who had just gotten their spirits shattered three times within the span of mere hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, rest in peace everyone. This is why I shouldn't be allowed to ingest caffeine before I sleep.
> 
> Augh, so many ellispes. Not that I particularly mind, however.
> 
> Melody's final words were based off of the last line from the song _Kokoro_ sung by Rin Kagamine (not exactly sure how to word the name of the actual producer). I really liked that line, so I decided to add a referemce to it.
> 
> Mitama's fighting segment was probably the most brutal thing I had ever written. I had wanted to showcase how goddamn ruthless she was towards those who seriously angered her, so I watched a bit of those ridiculously over-the-top combat games like _Doom 2016_ for a bit of my inspiration. This is why I shouldn't be allowed to just let my mind wander while I write.
> 
> Not much else to say here. Yu and Kana survived, but they're definitely not recovering from this any time soon.


	13. Ruin 5

_A few days later…_

Ken and Yuki yelled defiantly, their flaming blades tearing through the remainder of their enemies. None of them knew how it had happened, but it hadn’t been an hour since a large number of reanimated corpses had suddenly attacked them. Fortunately for them, the zombies weren’t too strong, so they had dispatched them without too much trouble. It had still given them one hell of a scare, though.

Once the zombies had been dealt with, the couple turned towards their target and sighed with relief. The familiar houses and roads of Electi Terram beckoned to them, welcoming them back.

Yuki hugged Ken and laughed while the Starry Sword smiled happily.

“We’re home. We’re finally home.”

  


The blazing sun shone brightly over the barren desert, the hot wind carving streaks into the sandy ground. The place was so dry, it seemed like even the individual droplets of moisture in the air were being vaporized. Even the hardiest of individuals would think twice before traveling here.

Then, twin shadows passed over the scorching sands. Powering through the blistering heat, Yu and Kana soared over the arid land, carried on wings of starlight.

It had been a couple of days since they had departed from Aurora, and the minds of the Nebulous Angels hadn’t recovered in the slightest. Although they understood the concept of death fairly well, they had never even considered the possibility of death claiming their close friends so quickly. And having three of their friends die within the span of a single day hadn’t been too good for their mental states.

Over the last couple of days, the siblings had barely talked to each other. They had simply powered towards their destination, instinctively shedding tears all the while. This was a problem, since their constant crying was making them extremely dehydrated - yet they couldn’t stop themselves. Even after they drank water from available lakes or rivers, the tears wouldn’t stop. This was something out of their control.

And now, in this arid desert, the dehydration had gotten even worse. Their lips were parched, their skin was dry, and they felt like they were inhaling burning sand instead of air. However, the two of them were quick to spot an oasis in the distance. They simply looked at each other, nodded, and soared off towards their destination.

However, as they neared the oasis, both of them gasped in shock as they saw two familiar figures slumped at the water’s edge, their heavily-armored figures gleaming in the harsh sunlight.

 

_Meanwhile, on Earth…_

Nearly a month after the incident with Territe, the investigation hadn’t gotten anywhere. That could be attributed to any number of factors, but the end result was still the same - not a lot had gotten done.

The justice system couldn’t even figure out what to do with the perpetrators. For now, the brothers that had instigated the incident were still in prison, but it was still taking a while for them to figure out how their ethics applied to the Nanos of Territe. While it was obvious that the brothers had committed a grave crime, exactly _how_ grave said crime had been was still in the air.

Worse still, there was still nobody who knew what had happened to the planet...until today, at least. An investigation team had scoured the Durand brothers’ house for anything that could be of use, and they had found the brothers’ equipment lying around. Hoping that the equipment was still functional, the team had taken it to the prison - after all, it was only fair that the brothers themselves would be the first to see what they had done.

So, the authorities had brought the gear to the cell where Louis and Jacques Durand were being held. After rigging everything up, the brothers had put on their headsets as requested. A video feed of their vision was being projected onto the screen.

When the brothers had taken control of their critically damaged avatars again, the two of them had gawked at the barren desert and sparkling oasis laid out before them. Noticing that a lot of the systems that they had set up to watch the planet were somehow still active, they decided to take a look at them.

What they saw stunned them. The planet’s geography had only changed a bit, but much of the environment had changed drastically. Localized, extreme climate conditions were everywhere, and the world seemed to be undergoing all four seasons at once. Even the desert that they were in hadn’t been there before.

But the most shocking thing they saw was that the world was... _empty_. Even with all of the cameras they had placed around the planet, they could barely detect any sorts of life, much less Nanos. Stranger still, there weren’t even too many corpses around. The Nanos had just...disappeared.

“Dear god…” Jacques muttered as Louis shook his head. “What...have we done?”

Louis inhaled heavily. “This place’s magic has gone nuts. I can detect that. And whatever that entailed...well, it wasn’t good for the Nanos. They can’t be...completely gone, can they?”

Jacques shrugged helplessly. “Because of our actions, they may as well be.”

Louis was about to say something else, but he registered a flash of blue in the corner of his vision before something slammed into him. The black knight gasped as a glowing sword pierced through his damaged armor, causing his body to shudder and spark violently. Once he had regained his bearings, he was surprised to see the face of a young boy staring back at him, his sapphire-blue eyes filled with a mixture of anger and despair.

“W-what?” Louis stammered.

Yu took deep breaths. “Y-you...you...you’re the ones…”

He couldn’t get any further before furious tears came to his eyes. “It’s your fault...your fault...you’re the reason for all of this!”

In a flash of violet, Kana plowed into the brothers, ramming them into a tree before repeatedly striking them with her blade - although her slashes seemed to have next to no force behind them. “Our world is destroyed...we’re alone...because of you! All because you wanted to have some “fun”...the world we loved is gone! You...you’re…”

Jacques breathed heavily. “What is this? Are you alone? Where are your friends?”

Big mistake. Yu and Kana’s faces reddened as more tears came to their eyes.

“Our friends are DEAD because of your antics!” Yu screamed, before breaking into a dehydrated, coughing fit. Even while choking, he still went on. “I can’t believe you’ve done this...your weapon hurt our wonderful planet so much that it turned on us. Its magic has become warped, hostile...even claiming the lives of our friends!”

Kana was evidently angry enough to scream her heart out as well, but just as she tried to talk, she started choking and coughing as well. The brothers watched as she broke into a dry, hacking cough that nearly made her seem like she was about to vomit on the spot. Yet, even though she was coughing up blood from ruptured blood vessels, she still made her anger known. “Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost because of you? How much our planet’s lost because of you? Because of you...we’ve lost our home, our friends...everything!”

Yu’s teary eyes blazed with righteous fury as he weakly tried to shove his blade deeper into Louis’ armor. “Why? Why would you do this? Why would you doom our world just for your own amusement? I wish you had never come here! I wish you had _never existed!_ ”

Yu’s face became ashen once he realized what he had just said. Yet even as the fires of rage burned within them, the Nebulous Angels were still pure at heart. And as such, neither of them could bring themselves to fully express their anger.

So, the flames within him died down, replaced by a cold sadness. Mere seconds later, the siblings had crumpled sobbing to the ground, their tears staining the armored knights’ weathered armor.

The Durand brothers could do nothing but silently watch the two crying children. The kids couldn’t see it, but their real bodies were beginning to shed tears as well.

The Nebulous Angels dragged themselves to the oasis, where they took the opportunity to rehydrate themselves. Then, they shuffled back over to their former adversaries, sitting down dejectedly in front of them. Their eyes still had a glimmer of anger in them, but it was naught but a pebble in a lake of sadness.

“...I’m sorry. I got really mad…” Yu muttered. “I know it wasn’t entirely your fault. You even tried to stop it from happening. Still...you’re the one who started it. I...shouldn’t blame you as much, though. But please understand...we’ve lost...so much...”

“Kids, don’t even think of forgiving us.” Louis mumbled. “I can’t accept it. I won’t. We deserve all of your anger - and more.”

Kana sniffled. “Okay...but still, why would you do this to us? Even if this wasn’t your goal, you still tried to conquer the planet just so you could live in your imagination.”

Louis shook his head. “I don’t want you to accept our apologies, but all we can say is...we’re sorry.”

Jacques hung his head in shame. “Well...I suppose we can at least give these back…”

The two brothers held out their hands, revealing two shining objects lying in their palms. As the Nebulous Angels shuffled over, they gasped once they recognized them as the wristwatches that they had made for the brothers all those months ago.

“Joe had suggested that we destroy them to sever our emotional ties with you...but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.” Louis told them softly. “You two had left quite an impression on us that day, so these gifts meant quite a bit to us. But now...they’d be better off in your possession. We don’t deserve these gifts anymore.”

Hesitantly, the children took the watches and wore them. Then, Yu spoke up.

“...Thank you. Even while playing the villains...you still remembered us.”

“Please don’t thank us.” Jacques muttered. “It makes it worse.”

Kana shrugged in response, drying her tears. “Well...what you did is in the past. Now we’ve just got to live with it, I suppose. I can’t refrain from saying what you did was pretty terrible, but it was still partially an accident. Since this ruined world wasn’t what you desired, I guess that we can kind of forgive you...but make no mistake, we won’t forget.”

As the Angels turned away, spreading their wings to leave, Louis lifted his head. “Please, tell me...how can you be so pure of heart? Even indirectly, we’ve caused you far too much suffering...how can you just forgive us like that? You should hate us!”

The kids turned towards them, their eyes shimmering with a sad glow. Then, they spoke in unison.

“We hated your actions...but we never truly disliked you as people. Now that you’ve shown remorse for what you’ve done...well, we don’t have a lot of reason to hate you. It’s as simple as that.”

So, as the siblings soared off into the horizon, the two armored knights collapsed into the sand, drained of energy and attempting to recharge.

Back on Earth, the brothers slowly removed their headsets. Both of them were crying, and their audience was in stunned silence at the humbling display of forgiveness they had just witnessed. Those two had appeared to be just kids - microscopic alien kids, no less - but within mere minutes, they had easily shown everyone in the room that their hearts were likely more pure than anyone on Earth.

Truly, the mere existence of the Nanosapients was nothing short of a miracle.

 

For the Nebulous Angels’ weary minds, the next couple of weeks were a muddy mess. They could barely remember anything they did, and anything they did remember no longer had meaning to them. While they were no longer crying incessantly, their damage to their mental states had long since been done.

Physically, they were exhausted, bruised, and dirty. Their clothes were scratched up and stained with mud and other filth, while their light armor was dented and melted in numerous places. They wanted to switch out their clothing, or at least wash themselves off - but they had never gotten the opportunity to.

Throughout their journey, neither of them had said a word. They couldn’t even formulate any real thoughts, and their minds were overtaken by a single goal.

_Get back home._

Despite having fallen into an abyssal depression, the siblings still weren’t about to let anything stop them - after all, their parents had long since taught them the value of resolve. Through driving hail, scorching droughts, torrential downpours, they powered through their troubles without hesitation. Even when faced with some of the more extreme conditions that their planet had birthed, like furious tempests or ashen firestorms, they would not falter.

Today, they were nearing their destination - to the point where they could see the village of Electi Terram in the distance. However, the siblings were too numb to even celebrate, simply continuing their journey.

Their advance was so single-minded that they barely even noticed that they had just walked into an incredibly bizarre forest. Wrapped around the trees were strange, red, tentacle-looking things - perhaps the appendages of some underground cephalopod creature? However, the kids didn’t even pay them any heed. Not even the grisly scene scattered before them - an unidentifiable mess of crushed skeletons and half-digested corpses - could rouse them from their stupor. When one of the tentacles curiously reached out to them, Yu just cleaved it in two and kept walking. The tentacles didn’t bother them any more after that.

Completely ignoring the forest, the kids just kept going. Upon seeing their home just over a kilometer away, their hearts lit up with a spark of hope, producing a glimmer of radiance in the dark void their minds had been stuck in.

The Nebulous Angels broke into a sprint, shedding tears of joy as they realized how close their destination was. However, they had barely ran half a kilometer before the ground ruptured beneath their feet. To their utter shock, the earth crumbled from underneath them, sending them both tumbling into a pit of...something.

Yu coughed and sputtered as Kana gagged. The once-underground pit was full of some kind of warm, translucent black sludge that smelled like melting rubber. The edges of the pit weren’t that tall, but the sludge itself seemed very deep.

The two of them struggled to stay afloat, the sludge slowly trying to pull them under. Climbing out of the pit would have been fairly easy, but making it to the edge was the hard part. The fluid was incredibly viscous, and the Angels were practically glued in place.

Kana panted as she felt her energy drain away. Whatever this disgusting slime was, it was sapping away at her physical and magical strength. It had barely been a minute since Kana had landed in the pit, and she already felt like curling up and falling asleep.

That wasn’t to say they weren’t fighting, however. Their bodies crackled with multicolored flames as they tried to make their way to the edge, their wings materializing and flapping wildly in an attempt to gain lift. However, the sludge was draining their energy at an alarmingly fast rate.

Kana gasped as her powers began to fade, causing her to sink into the sludge. Yu, who was nearing the edge, turned back and grabbed his sister, pulling her towards him. However, it was evident that he was already exhausted as well. His eyes were completely dull.

Seconds later, both of their bodies went limp mere meters from the edge. They had exhausted all of their energy trying to escape, but this bizarre sludge had still triumphed in the end. Devoid of any semblance of strength, the two of them were powerless to do anything but embrace each other and await their end.

Yu coughed uncomfortably as he felt something peculiar, like his body was being dissolved into the fluid. “Augh...this can’t be happening...we were...so close…”

Kana shuddered, tears rolling down her face. “No...please...I don’t want to die…”

The children sank into the sludge until they were up to their necks. At this point, both of their eyes were completely devoid of light. It had become clear that the dark fluid was literally dissolving the magic that made up their bodies...and it was every bit as uncomfortable as they had imagined.

The two of them futilely reached to the sky, as if to grab hold of the clouds and pull themselves out of the pit. However, their arms shuddered and began to liquefy as the sludge broke down their bodies further. With growing dread, Yu realized that the sludge was literally melding their bodies together. However, she didn’t even have to power to move, much less pull herself and her brother apart.

 _Is this how it ends?_ Yu thought. _Will we be melted together into an abomination of amalgamated flesh, just like that poor creature from before?_

Meanwhile, Kana just started hyperventilating as she melted. “It’s cold…Yu...”

Yu could do nothing as they sank even further into the slime. His breathing slowed and his vision blurred as his body went numb. The last thing he saw before light engulfed his vision was a pair of hands reaching out to him...

 

Yu suddenly awoke in a vast, white realm.

He looked around. There wasn’t anything in sight. _Was this the afterlife?_

He tried to speak...but he couldn’t. With a start, he started testing basic movements like waving - and he realized that he didn’t even seem to have his body anymore. He was barely able to shift his eyes around, but he realized that the body that he was currently inhabiting wasn’t his own - and it could barely qualify as a body. It was more like a half-melted lump of flesh and black sludge, lying nearly immobile on the pale floor.

Despite the horror of his situation, Yu was strangely calm. His mind seemed fogged up, unable to process any emotions besides a mild disappointment.

Then, he heard a voice in his mind. _“Where am I?”_

 _“Kana...you’re here too…”_ Yu muttered in response.

The voice seemed to ponder that. _“I...I’ve become a monster...just like those poor people all that time ago…”_

 _“Well, I’m still here with you.”_ Yu reassured his younger sister, realizing that the two of them were probably sharing the strange, amalgamated body. _“This is...so weird, though. At least we’re alive.”_

He could feel Kana’s consciousness struggling, trying to make light of their predicament. The two of them were becoming overwhelmed with a growing dread - one caused by their realization that they were probably stuck like this for the rest of their lives.

The next couple of minutes were spent trying to figure out exactly what they had gotten themselves into. Even though the two were almost always in agreement, they still felt like their consciousnesses were instinctively straining against one another, trying to gain control of their new body. But even when they cooperated and worked together, the warped blob of flesh would barely move. The two of them could only get their shared body to wiggle occasionally.

_Is this what it’s like for multiple souls to share one body? But that creature we found...that was made of dozens of people…who weren’t as close as we are..._

Working together, the Angels somehow managed to force a mouth open in the sack of flesh. Straining as one, the blob managed to utter a single word: “Help…”

Suddenly, the children mentally gasped as they felt a hand pat them on the head. Then, their body’s four eyes widened as a pair of familiar faces moved into view.

_Mom...dad…_

Yuki sighed, tears of joy coming to her eyes. “Thank goodness you’re okay. I thought we wouldn’t be able to save you...I was so scared.”

Ken smiled at them. “Well, it’s all going to be okay now. We’re here for you. We’re all back together again.”

The stunned children managed to force out some more speech. “But...we’re...in this...melted...body…”

Yuki waved as if that were a minor detail. “That doesn’t matter. You’re alive. That’s all we care about.”

“We...can’t...show...you affection. And...we probably...look...horrid. There are so many...things...that we...can’t give...you...anymore.”

Ken shook his head. “Your mother is right. You’re alive, and that’s what counts. As long as we still have you...it’s okay.”

The amalgam went silent for a bit. Then, it asked another question.

“Even...in this terrible...twisted...form...do you still...love us?”

Ken was stunned, then he laughed. “You don’t even need to ask us that question. As long as you two are still Yu and Kana Hoshizora, it doesn’t matter what shape or form you take - you’re our children. We...we’ll love you, forever and always.”

“Forever and always.” Yuki repeated, as the Radiant Swords enveloped the creature that their children had become in a warm hug.

And as the children became aware of the tears gushing from their eyes, their vision faded into a warm darkness full of soothing voices and glimmers of hope.

 

Yu groggily opened his eyes, the sunlight streaming into them. _I...I just had the strangest dream…_

With a start, he realized where he was. He was lying down on a black blanket under a tree, surrounded by verdant green grass. As he slowly sat up, he noticed that there was a flowing river in front of him. Looking behind him, his eyes widened once he saw the familiar buildings of Electi Terram.

_What? How are we here? I thought we were dead…or melted..._

As his mind began to process what was happening, he noticed that he was wearing a clean set of clothes - identical to the ones he almost always wore. His armor and sword were laid out on the grass beside him.

To his left, Kana snored peacefully, her equipment lying at her side as well. However, it didn’t take long before Kana suddenly jolted awake as well. Seeing Yu beside her, she stared at him weakly. “I...just had the most terrible dream…”

The siblings locked eyes, and a silent voice seemed to speak to both of them. They each knew exactly what dream their sibling had just experienced.

After a minute of getting up and dusting themselves off, they donned their armor and picked up their swords, walking around the area. Yu was feeling a bit thirsty, so he went to the river and grabbed a drink - of course, not before testing to see if the water was safe first. Then, the two of them walked back to the tree and sat down, wondering what exactly had happened to them.

Mere minutes later, their hearts practically exploded as they saw their parents walk into the area. Both of them were carrying bowls of piping hot noodles.

“Mom! Dad! Is that really you?” Kana asked hopefully.

The Radiant Swords notice that their kids were awake and smiled in relief. Putting the bowls down on a nearby table, the two of them raised their arms. “Yes. We’re here.”

Yu and Kana were stunned. Then, to their parents’ surprise, their wings flared to life as their faces scrunched up. Without so much as a warning, the kids launched themselves at the Radiant Swords hard enough to bowl them over, desperately embracing their parents while bawling hysterically.

“Oh, kids...thank goodness you’re okay.” Yuki told them, her voice trembling with relief. “We noticed you in the distance, and we managed to get there and pull you out of that pit in time. But I was so scared...you two were practically melted together at that point. I thought you...I thought you two were dead…”

Ken nodded. “I’m not going to lie, you two were in a pretty terrible condition. Fortunately for us, your bodies stabilized and returned to normal after an hour or two. You two have been sleeping for almost a day now...but it’s going to be okay now. We’re here for you.”

The Nebulous Angels were reduced to a sobbing mess, unable to even form comprehensible sentences. They just tightly hugged their parents, crying out all of the pent-up sadness they had accumulated over the last couple of weeks.

The Radiant Swords just smiled reassuringly and patted their kids on the back, beckoning for them to just let out all of their pains and sorrows. Soon, their tears stopped flowing, and the Nebulous Angels calmed themselves down.

Yuki smiled at her kids. “You two seem like you’ve been through a lot. Tell you what, why don’t we discuss this over a warm meal?”

The kids perked up. They hadn’t had a decent meal in almost a month. “We’d love to.”

So, the family got together for the first time in months and talked over their noodles. As the Angels spoke, their parents became increasingly proud of them. It was clear that the siblings had endured terrible things that no person deserved to endure. But the fact that they had pulled through regardless made the Radiant Swords happy.

However, their recap of the events wasn’t all happy. The Radiant Swords had literally broken down crying once Yu and Kana had told them about the fate of their good friends. This scared the Angels a little - they had always seen their parents as paragons of strength and virtue, so seeing them crying like this was an unfamiliar experience.

Fortunately, the Angels had managed to retrieve a number of their belongings. One by one, they took their mementos out of their remote storages.

Two burned capes, one red and one blue. A crushed silver harp. A snapped, bladed bow. A worn bag full of magic-infused drawings.

_Melody...Xander…_

A small recording device. A shimmering, silver-white robe. A mechanical gun-blade.

_Sophia…_

Two silver cloaks. A large, crystal-infused sword. A long, shiny flute-wand hybrid.

_Mitama...Hibiki…_

The family stared at the mementos, before closing their eyes and silently paying their respects to their fallen friends.

_We won’t forget. We’ll remember you...forever and ever._

 

The next month was the well-needed ray of light in the Hoshizora family’s lives. For the last couple of months, their lives hadn’t been exactly the greatest - it had been dismal for Ken and Yuki, and downright miserable for Yu and Kana. Now, while their lives were still a bit lonely, it was an immeasurable improvement.

The family got caught up with each other, and decided to just live life for now. Despite everything that had happened with their world, they had still managed to mostly revert back to the way things were before - a simple, loving family, living in a miniature paradise seemingly isolated from the rest of the ruined world.

However, the four of them also had a curiosity that they felt like they needed to satisfy - one concerning exactly what had happened to their world. While they also made sure to enjoy themselves, a good portion of their spare time was taken up by researching the nature of their planet’s magical distortion. Sophia’s research notes, which she had left in her home, were a huge asset to their efforts - although the memory of their dear friend still hurt. Through this research, the Hoshizora family hoped that they could get a handle on exactly how their world had been damaged - hoping that one day, they could find a way to fix their fractured world.

For better or worse, magical anomalies _did_ strike their home several times. Fortunately, none of them had been too harmful - usually just altered thinking for a bit - but they were still a bit unsettling, even after the four had gotten used to them. At least they made for good research material.

So, this was how the Hoshizora family spent the next month - living a quiet, peaceful life, all while trying to figure out how they could fix their world.

However, little did they know that their newly-rekindled, idyllic life wasn’t meant to last.

 

_One day, after a month of living at Electi Terram..._

Ken hummed to himself as he watered one of the flower beds that they had planted. As he watered, the air resonated with metallic clanks, the crackling of magical flares, and playful laughter - byproducts of the Nebulous Angels’ daily training.

Yu and Kana clashed in the middle of the verdant field, the magical discharges from their furious duel flattening the grass. Both sides fought hard and fast, never giving the other so much as a second of rest. Despite their current objective being to defeat the other, that wasn’t their end goal. They had to keep training and training, until they were strong enough to help their parents take down any potential enemies.

Ken couldn’t help but smile as he saw a familiar vision - one of himself and Yuki duelling in the fields of Yume, all those years ago. Their kids possessed the same youthful, determined vigor that the Radiant Swords had possessed during their childhoods, and that was a good sign.

However, his daydream was interrupted by a pained cry. “Ken!”

Turning to the right, he saw Yuki running towards him...and his heart stopped. Slung over his wife’s back was a young man dressed in tattered rags, covered in blood and barely breathing. His body was covered with ragged, bleeding lacerations.

As the kids stopped duelling and gasped in shock, Ken urgently ran over to the bloodied man. Yuki gently laid him down on the grass, recoiling as the action produced a muffled squelching noise.

“What...what happened?” Ken asked, his heart racing. “Who is this?”

“I’m not sure.” Yuki replied shakily. “I found him staggering towards the town in this state. He said his name was Alexei, and that he was a mage who worked as a soldier for his village, but he couldn’t say anything else before collapsing. I had to carry him all the way here.

Suddenly, the man opened his eyes and coughed, blood leaking from his mouth. He stared into the sky with hollow eyes that had evidently seen something traumatizing.

“Hey!” Ken yelled in surprise. “Are you alright?”

Alexei coughed again. “You...run, and run far. The storm is upon us…”

“What are you talking about?” Yuki asked incredulously. “What storm?”

The man seemed to regain his composure before speaking. “There’s a thing roaming the land...a mindless, colossal abomination of raw, unrestrained magic. We don’t know why it exists, but it has been carving a swath of destruction through the land, all while absorbing the planet’s magic to grow stronger. When I had encountered it, it had attained nigh-complete command over magic despite its lack of rational thought - and something that commands magic effectively commands the fabric of this world. The storm is unstoppable, unwavering...it seemed able to wield the world itself as one of its weapons. Its power is immense...it was almost like something done by a human being.”

The Radiant Swords paled. If that thing’s destructive power even approached that of a human being, that was a major cause for concern. Yuki grabbed Alexei’s shoulders in desperation. “Tell us more. How did you get here?”

“That beast...came for my people.” Alexei muttered. “Our people had somehow survived that great disaster, and had tried to survive in our town. But this morning, that _thing_ descended on us like a living cataclysm. Nothing we did could even touch it. Even though I was heavily wounded in the battle, I managed to teleport some distance away before it happened - but our town was utterly obliterated. There may be other survivors like me...but I fear for their lives, especially with that creature out there.”

“Then what do we do?” Ken asked, as the Nebulous Angels stood behind him in shock. “What can we do against it?”

Alexei let out a mirthless laugh. “Do against it? I’m afraid you can do nothing. The storm is like a god of destruction - utterly unstoppable. It will go on to consume everything, until the world is in ruins. You can only run...but even that may not help.”

The Hoshizora family was stunned. They weren’t ones to give up in the face of insurmountable odds. But Alexei’s description of the mysterious threat had frightened them.

As Alexei grunted in pain again, he seemed to sense something. “Ugh...it’s too late. It might have learned how to conceal itself from sight. Even if you can’t see it, I can feel that thing’s raging magic upon us. Maybe...I can at least do you a favor...and let you know what you’re dealing with.”

And with a shout, he got up and shot out a colossal thunderbolt from his palm.

The bolt soared into the sky, only to explode in midair. Mere seconds later, an ear-splitting roar tore through the air, instinctively causing the Hoshizora family to cover their ears. That sound was unlike anything they had ever heard before - a distorted, multi-toned, warbling whine that could not have belonged to an organic creature.

And as the air shimmered, the creature appeared before the anxious family. The mere sight of it made their blood freeze with fright.

_That...really does look like a god of destruction…_

Eclipsing the entire sky, a swirling maelstrom of dark clouds and crackling energy raged above - a chaotic, blazing hurricane nearly six kilometers in diameter. The storm constantly discharged colossal tendrils made of of multicolored light and fierce wind, which tore up everything indiscriminately. Everything it ripped apart seemed to be converted into prismatic light, which was sucked into the swirling vortex.

Floating serenely in the center of it all was a bizarre, radiant entity. It was small compared to the storm but massive compared to a Nano - at least four hundred meters tall. Its form was hard on the eyes and difficult to describe, but the Hoshizora family could discern a formless mass of roiling magical energy, with six angelic wings sprouting from it. Kaleidoscopic, multicolored light pulsated across its body as it let out that horrid shriek yet again, rays of ruinous light pouring from its wings and further disintegrating its surroundings.

Now that its illusion had been broken, the Nanos could see the full extent of the damage it had caused. The thing had utterly shredded everything in the immediate area, carving a path of ruin that stretched all the way into the horizon. It was like it erased everything it touched, turning it into nothing more than ash and dust.

As the being in the storm’s center turned towards them and screamed again, Alexei shuddered in fright as he unholstered a large revolver. As the gun’s muzzle lit up with fiery light, he signaled for the rest of them to run. “If it’s behaving like it did before, its magic all but nullifies healing. I’m too hurt to survive for much longer...but I’m not about to go out quietly. You four, find shelter! Find some way to escape this thing! I’ll try to stall it - even if it’s for an instant!”

Before the family could complain, Alexei magically shoved them aside and fired off several brilliant flares, which exploded on impact with the bizarre entity. Instantly, the creature turned towards him and flapped its six wings, releasing innumerable cutters made of magically-charged wind. Faster than they could blink, the cutters struck, smashing through houses and tearing the land asunder. Against such a barrage, Alexei barely lasted half a second before being ripped to shreds by the slicing wind.

The Nebulous Angels screamed in fright at the gory scene, while the Radiant Swords moved in front of their kids to shield them. Fortunately, the barrage ceased as abruptly as it had begun. In the distance, the creature roared again as it advanced, closing the distance between them alarmingly quickly. The wind picked up as the entity’s magical storm approached them.

The family grit their teeth as they tried to come up with anything resembling a strategy. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that this wasn’t a foe they could take down in a head-on fight. Not only was it massive, it was fairly obvious that its mastery of the arcane far surpassed their own. Even if that thing was mostly mindless like Alexei had said, that didn’t change the fact that it had instantly obliterated him, along with a chunk of their village, from kilometers away.

As if to remind them of its presence, the entity’s screech echoed through the air again. Unfurling its wings, it unleashed prismatic lasers in every direction, which seemed to burn away the very space they passed through. As the lasers sliced enormous chasms in the land like the dirt and rock was made of water, explosions erupted from its storm as it started raining colossal meteors down upon the land.

Yu and Kana covered their ears as the world around them started exploding. Ken clenched his sword hilt as Yuki’s eyes crackled with light.

“This doesn’t look good.” Ken muttered. “Running isn’t an option here. We’ve seen how easily that thing can kill us. Our best option would be to fight it and end it before it destroys us and the world...but how would we do that?”

However, Yu got an idea. “Dad?”

“What is it, Yu? Do you have an idea?”

The boy nodded, his frightened eyes nonetheless filled with resolve. “You know that black stuff from before?”

Yuki paled. “Uh...you wouldn’t mean that stuff that nearly melted you and your sister together, right?”

Yu just nodded. “Well, while we were stuck in that pit, we felt something strange. That stuff wasn’t only dissolving us, it was sapping us of our strength - like it was nullifying the magic that made up our bodies. So, if we assume that the sludge neuters magic, and that the creature is made of pure magic, then…”

“Then...we might be able to kill it.” Yuki muttered incredulously, ruffling her son’s hair. “Yu, you are one smart kid!”

Even in a situation like this, Yu couldn’t help but get a little flustered at the praise. “T-thank you!”

However, Ken frowned. “You sure we’ve got enough of that stuff to take this thing down?”

“Well, it’s the best we can do.” Yuki told him adamantly.

Kana grabbed her mother’s sleeve. “Here it comes!”

The Radiant Swords turned towards their adversary as the creature shrieked, its energy storm unleashing a cascade of lightning all around it. As its discharge blasted countless forests to ash, the entity in the center of the storm spread its wings and extended several blade-tipped tendrils from its body. With a series of rapid slashing motions, it tore open the ground, sending blazing fissures streaking towards Electi Terram.

The four of them yelped and leapt from building to building as the fissures ripped up the town, crushing buildings like they were made of paper. Noticing the tiny life-forms flitting around in front of it, the beast retracted its tendrils and flailed them in front of it wildly, their bladed tips firing pink crescent-shaped slashes that seemed to rend space itself. The four of them avoided the slashes, but they still gasped when they saw the slashes effortlessly cut through the earth like it wasn’t even there.

Realizing that they needed to get it closer to the pit, Yu and Kana drew their swords and hurled flaming comets at the titanic beast. While the shots dissipated as soon as they got near its maelstrom of power, they succeeded in getting the magical goliath’s attention. In response to this attempted attack, the creature’s wings spread wide as they began to pulsate with violet light. Suddenly, the gravity around the Angels intensified, sending them both crashing into the dirt. The siblings cried out as they sank into the dirt, the intensified gravity starting to crush the nearby buildings.

Just as the creature shot two of its tendrils to eviscerate the siblings, the Radiant Swords magically grabbed hold of them and yanked them out of there. As the bladed tendrils pulverized the area, the Radiant Swords attempted to heal the Angels’ wounds, only to find out that like Alexei had said, their healing was ineffective.

However, the siblings were more than ready to keep going. They had suspected that they had maybe sustained some damage in their leg bones, but they weren’t about to let that stop them.

As the four of them kept weaving in between their enemy’s cataclysmic attacks, the creature began to grow impatient. The storm intensified, producing electrified tornadoes that tore chunks of the land apart and sent them flying into the cyclone to be absorbed. It took all of the Nanos’ strength not to get blown away as well.

However, it was working. The creature was slowly being drawn towards the pit of black sludge that had nearly claimed Yu and Kana’s lives. While the four of them were getting mightily tired from dodging the constant magical barrages that the storm and its master threw out, they were getting tantalizingly close to a perceived victory.

The angel of ruin shrieked again, causing the air itself to fracture. Within seconds, these fractures had exploded, sending shards of raw magic rocketing in every direction. Ken and Yuki blocked the shrapnel barrage with their own barriers, while Yu and Kana ducked into a crater to avoid the shards. The four of them grit their teeth and ignored the shards that dug into them.

With a start, they realized that they had run all the way to their destination. The four of them stared at the bubbling pit of viscous muck, then to the magical hurricane above, then to each other. Their eyes lit up with fiery determination. _Let’s do this._

Compared to the acid lake the Radiant Swords had lifted all those years ago, this lake was quite a bit smaller - and of course, they had grown stronger as well. So, they had no problem lifting up the contents of the pit and hurling them at the creature, who instinctively grabbed hold of it with magic before pulling it towards itself.

The four of them waited with bated breath. The instant the fluid touched the glowing creature, it emitted an ear-splitting scream as the sludge adhered to it, causing its form to flicker and shudder. With a piercing wail, the magical storm swirled violently before exploding into a brilliant nova of light that eclipsed the sky.

The Hoshizora family covered their eyes as the blinding light engulfed everything. The explosion was probably visible from space - the result of all the creature’s absorbed magic being released at once. Fortunately, the blast had occured high in the atmosphere - if it had happened lower, it would have likely struck far harder than a nuclear warhead.

Once the blast had subsided and the ringing in the family’s ears stopped, the four of them looked up. The blast should have cleared away all the clouds, but it seemed as if the magical discharge had _created_ more clouds instead. Panting heavily, the family surveyed the ruined land before them. In mere minutes, that thing had made it seem like nobody had ever lived here.

Then a warbling, hissing roar jolted them back to reality.

Slowly, the Radiant Swords turned to their right as the Nebulous Angels gasped in shock. The creature had somehow survived, having crash-landed in a nearby forest hard enough to level it. As its body began to glow with harsh radiation again, it spread its six wings and screeched again, its form convulsing and warping.

“Crap.” Ken groaned. “That thing’s still alive?”

Yuki shook her head in disbelief. “It seems a lot weaker...but we don’t have any more of that sludge to deal with it. What now?”

However, Kana’s eyes were drawn towards a peculiar sight. Those subterranean tentacles they had seen all that time ago were still here, writhing silently behind them. Apparently the creatures that they belonged to didn’t want to leave just yet.

As she watched, a small furry animal hopped up to one of them. In an instant, the tentacle seized the creature before exuding a black ooze from pores lining its surface. The slime seemed to partially digest the creature on the spot, and the half-melted mass was pulled below the surface.

Suddenly, Kana had a hunch. Raising her sword, she rammed it into the ground, willing it to discharge a blast of magic straight downwards. Her attack carved a hole straight into the ground - revealing a massive lake of black slime beneath the surface. Submerged in the sludge, several large octopus-like creatures squeaked in surprise, retracting their tentacles from the surface as the sudden light blinded them.

“Mom! Dad! Yu! I found something!” Kana yelled. “Those octopus things are the ones producing that sludge! There’s a lot more underground!”

“That’s incredible, Kana!” Ken told her gratefully. “Now, we can-”

He was cut off as the gigantic magical creature roared, extending a wing and swinging it into Ken. The Starry Sword flew through the forest hard enough to snap several trees, before tumbling to a stop.

“Ken!” Yuki yelled, running over to help her husband. Fortunately, Ken got up almost immediately, drawing his sword. Together, the Radiant Swords faced down the dazzling seraph, their eyes alight with determination.

“We can’t blast open the ground in time.” Yu shouted. “Maybe we could get it to tear open the ground for us! It seemed to have no trouble doing that before…”

In response to the sound, the colossal creature turned towards Yu. With a flap of its wings, the being sent a blistering spiral of pure heat towards him. Yelping in alarm, he raised a barrier that barely deflected the blast, the scorching flames disintegrating everything around him.

As Yu collapsed to the ground from the strain, Kana leapt in to defend her brother. This time, the creature curled up its wings as they began to glow bright yellow. Then it violently unfurled them, unleashing a massive lance of lightning. Kana and Yu barely had enough time to deploy barriers before the blast stuck them, the attack’s power annihilating the very land beneath them. As the ground burned away and crumbled, the two children dropped to their knees, their barriers shattered from the blast.

Just as they started sliding into the chasm created by the blast, the glowing seraph lashed out with its prehensile wings, grabbing the two children with one of its wingtips. In an instant, the creature lifted the kids until they were directly in front of it. The Radiant Swords looked on in horror as their kids strained before the beast, their bodies like ants compared to the magical colossus.

The siblings struggled, straining and hacking away at their bonds, but in their dazed state they were no match for the massive crystalline feathers that ensnared them. They could only futilely try to slip out of its grasp as the creature menaced them.

As the entity lifted the kids closer to itself as if to observe them, the Nebulous Angels cringed as they began to feel harsh, burning radiation emanating from the creature. While its magical aura had weakened since its first appearance, it still burned with so much energy that it felt like the siblings’ DNA was being unraveled. The two of them started sweating as the heat became overwhelming - with how much magic that thing was producing, it wasn’t actually too unlikely that they would be melted alive from the sheer magical overload, if not the heat itself.

Then, just as the Angels’ skin began to smoke, there was a flash of silver light as the Radiant Swords launched themselves at the entity. With a decisive slash, the pair sheared the creature’s wingtip off, freeing Yu and Kana from its grasp. The children fell to the ground and landed heavily, the creature’s giant iridescent feathers crashing to the ground around them.

Ken landed next to them. “You okay?”

The siblings nodded. In reality, they felt like they had been microwaved, but that wasn’t about to stop them.

Even though its injury had been insignificant, it had evidently been enough to drive the creature into a berserk rage. Spreading its wings, it let out another distorted wail as azure shock waves emanated from its pulsing, polychromatic body. Suddenly, the air seemed to thicken and turn into gelatin. Yu and Kana could only stare blankly as their bodies seemed frozen in place. Meanwhile, Ken and Yuki struggled, but their forms were still moving in slow motion.

Screeching again, the glowering entity lashed out with its six wings, ripping through the forest indiscriminately while the quartet were slowed. One struck Yu and Kana, sending them hurtling across the forest. In response, Ken and Yuki reached for some of the newly-revealed black sludge and prepared to lift it...only for the creature to flinch and retreat higher into the sky. Its wings were tensed, and seemed ready to curl around itself at any moment.

 _It’s learned!_ Ken realized as ice crept through his veins. _What now?_

Just as its slowing aura wore off, the seraph of ruin screeched and tucked in its wings, suddenly diving straight at the pair. As they yelped in surprise and tried to dodge the incoming goliath, a red tentacle suddenly surfaced and shot a glob of black fluid at the creature. The blob dissolved a couple of its crystalline feathers, sending it careening off course. The thing smashed into a nearby part of the forest, leaving a massive crater in its wake.

With a cacophony of angered squeaking sounds, a legion of giant red cephalopods emerged from the dirt, rushing towards the being that had ravaged their home. As the seraph struggled to take flight again, the creatures started latching onto the angel, oozing out their viscous secretions to weaken it. The creature wailed as the sludge ate away at its wings, causing them to flicker and begin fading.

It wasn’t long before the chaotic entity regained its composure and unleashed a burst of harsh radiation, instantly frying all of the creatures - but it had been distracted long enough for a recovered Yu and Kana to deliver a decisive blow. While the seraph had been occupied with the tentacled creatures, Yu and Kana had managed to sneak to the black pit and begin exerting their magic on it. Now, amidst the smell of seafood permeating the air, the Nebulous Angels yelled defiantly as they gave their powers one last push, warping the entire pit of sludge above their foe. The glowing creature barely had time to turn towards the sky before the contents of the pit doused it, the dark sludge engulfing and snuffing out its harsh light.

The entity screamed and wailed as the sludge adhered to it, sapping away at its immense magical power. Collapsing from the strain of their stunt, Yu and Kana nonetheless smiled when their parents gave them a grateful hug.

However, just as the four heroes had gotten their hopes up, there was a flash of light as the creature let out a blast of force, disintegrating its dark bonds. The harsh radiation that it had been letting off was completely gone, but its form was still glowing nonetheless. Its body had become mostly transparent, revealing a small orb of light in its center.

“T-That thing is still alive?” Yu stuttered as Kana backed up in shock. “It doesn’t give up, does it?”

Yuki grit her teeth as she brandished her sword. “Well, it looks weak enough to finish off now. We can’t let it absorb any more magic!”

And with that, the four of them charged it again.

This time, the creature didn’t even make any noise as it attacked. Flying into the air, it violently unfurled its wings, hurling a wave of its own feathers at the quartet. Ken and Yuki leapt and weaved in between the feathers as they sliced up the earth. However, Yu and Kana weren’t so lucky. As they frantically dodged the barrage, Yu became aware of a feather headed straight at them. Realizing that this was something he couldn’t dodge, he desperately bolted out a cerulean blast in an attempt to shoot it out of the air. His attack struck the incoming projectile and sent it into a wild spin, but all he succeeded in doing was making it strike them blunt-end first. The massive feather slammed into them, practically crushing their barriers while nearly knocking both of them out cold. As they skidded across the ashen land, they slammed into a tree hard enough to snap it. Gasping in pain and trying to get their breath back, the Nebulous Angels realized that they were pinned to the ground. They struggled to push the feather off of them, but the thing was larger than both of them combined - and was appropriately heavy, especially since the two of them were already beyond fatigued. The pressure from the feather’s weight was already making breathing difficult.

Some distance away, Ken and Yuki cried out as they saw their kids’ predicament. However, the magical seraph had given them an opening too good to pass up - apparently it had been drained to the point where it was forced to make a hasty landing. As its monolithic form slumped to the ground yet again, the Radiant Swords dashed at it and lunged at its body, repeatedly slashing at it. Already weakened from its prior assaults, the translucent magic shell encasing its core shuddered, cracked, and burst asunder.

Just as they were about to lunge again, the creature straightened up, reshaping its damaged wings into countless tendrils of multicolored light. With a screech, it lashed out with these tendrils out in a desperate attempt to defend its core. Ken and Yuki panted as their swordplay was put to the test, their magically-charged blades blocking and slashing like whirlwinds of blazing metal. While the nonstop barrage was pushing them to their absolute limits, they were fending off the entity’s desperation attack - all while slowly advancing on the pulsating orb nestled within the wreckage of its body.

However, once they were nearly within arms reach of the person-sized core, one of the creature’s tendrils was knocked aside by their assault. Instead of attacking them again, the tendril swerved into the air and rocketed behind the Radiant Swords. Their blood froze once they realized where - or more specifically, who - it was headed for.

Without a second thought, they rammed their swords into the wayward coil of light, causing it to dissolve as it was rended from its master. They knew what was coming next. They knew what their action would cost them. But in that instant, their parental instincts had taken over. No matter what...they _could not_ allow their kids to die.

In a lightning-quick motion, the creature retracted two of its tendrils back into its body. Then, with a merciless brutality, it rammed the tendrils into its assailants, impaling them through their torsos before forcing a blast of magical lightning into their bodies.

Ken and Yuki gasped as overwhelming, agonizing pain wracked their entire bodies. They could feel everything in vivid detail - their internal organs being shredded, the magical discharges searing their flesh, and the warm blood pouring out of their wounds. The pain was more than anything they had ever felt in their lives - even for two individuals as resolute as the Radiant Swords, it was almost too much for them.

_Almost._

Even as their minds started to shut down from the agony, the two of them grit their teeth. Forcing themselves to forget about the pain, they grabbed the burning tendrils and, in a single motion, pulled themselves closer towards the creature’s core. With a decisive finality, the two of them raised their swords, infused them with the last of their energy, and struck.

One strike. One strike from the Radiant Swords was all it took to bring down the magical cataclysm that had nearly obliterated their world.

 

Yu and Kana had just managed to move the giant feather a bit when the entire world seemed to dissolve into a colossal nova of light. As the two of them covered their eyes, they heard a terrified, distorted scream reverberate through the air.

Then, all was silent. The feather trapping them had vanished, and the ruinous seraph was nowhere to be found. Nothing was left of it except an aura of sizzling magic that seemed to permeate the air.

The Angels stumbled to their feet and looked around in shock, surveying the apocalyptic landscape all around them. Then they saw the two people crumpled in front of them and nearly fainted on the spot.

Splayed out on the ground, Ken and Yuki groaned in pain. The seraph’s tendrils had messily impaled their torsos, to the point where one could literally see through them. A messy pulp of visceral matter was practically spilling out of them, and the two of them were bleeding at a massive rate.

Yu dashed over to them and dropped to his knees. “No no no no…”

Kana shook her head and whimpered. “This isn’t real...this isn’t real…”

The Radiant Swords could do nothing but take shallow breaths.

The siblings raised their hands and immediately devoted their entire selves to one purpose - healing their parents. Magic poured out of them and into the wounded Nanos, yet even as Yu and Kana felt their own vitality draining away, nothing would happen.

“The...residual magic…” Kana breathed shakily, noticing the magical aura permeating the area. “It’s stopping our healing...oh god. That...that’s too cruel…”

Yu’s eyes flickered with unstable light. “Please...just let us heal them! That’s all I ask for! Come on...work!”

Suddenly, Yuki reached out and grasped his hand.

“There’s no saving us. We...don’t have much time left. I’m sorry…”

“Don’t say that…” Yu muttered desperately. “Don’t say that!”

Yuki shuddered as she began to grow pale from blood loss. “We wished that we could stay with you forever, watching you grow. But I guess...not all wishes come true.”

“Please stop…” Kana whispered fearfully. “You’re going to live! You have to!”

“But no matter what happens...please, just promise us one more thing.”

Yu and Kana stopped and listened. No matter what the situation, they would always listen to anything their parents asked them to do.

Yuki grit her teeth as another wave of pain shot through her body. “Promise us...that you’ll never give up. Promise us that you’ll never stop clinging to hope - that you’ll never allow yourselves to quietly fade into the darkness.”

Ken choked and spoke up. “On our quest, we...never gave up, no matter what. And eventually, we ended up getting a happy ending. So please...don’t give up, so that one day, you can get your happy ending too. Perhaps one day...you’ll be able to save this planet. Please...try your best to do so. That’s what I ask of you.”

The Nebulous Angels could feel fractures spreading through their spirits, but they managed to shakily nod their heads. “We...we promise. We’ll never give up.”

The Radiant Swords nodded. Ken reached out to his children, and the Nebulous Angels took his hands. They were cold - far too cold. Yet judging from the determination in his eyes, he was clinging to life with every particle of his being - in hopes that he could maybe survive long enough for the magic blocking their healing to wear off. Judging from Yuki’s resolute expression, she was trying her best too.

Yet after a minute had passed, they weren’t looking any better - in fact, they were getting worse. Their breathing was irregular and shaky, and they were both chalk-white from losing so much blood.

“I can see the light…” Ken muttered deliriously. “I’m so sorry...I’ve failed. Looks like...I’m finished...”

“No…” the Nebulous Angels cried as tears began to flow down their cheeks. Weakly hugging their parents despite the blood and gore pouring from their wounds, the kids started to sob uncontrollably. “You can’t go! Please...don’t leave us!”

Yuki sighed sadly. “There are some things we can’t control...and unfortunately, this was one of them. You poor children...I’m so sorry we have to pain you so much. But please...before I go…can you smile for me? This is selfish of me, but if I leave the world...I don’t want to see you in pain during my last moments. I want...to see you smiling before I go.”

The Angels hesitated. Then, they obeyed her final request. Despite the tears pouring down their cheeks, they managed to force their faces into the pleasant smiles they knew their parents loved so much.

“Goodbye...mom...dad. We’ll...miss you...”

“Goodbye...Yu...Kana…” the Radiant Swords whispered. “We’ll...miss you too. May fate...be kinder to you...than it was to us…”

In their final moments, Yuki managed to send her husband a telepathic message. _“...Ken?”_

_“What is it?”_

_“...In the next world...I hope we can meet again. I don’t...want to be alone...”_

Ken couldn’t help but smile peacefully. _“Don’t worry. I’ll find you...we can be together again...I promise...”_

And with that final thought, the Radiant Swords passed away. The light that had shone so brightly in their eyes finally went dim, and then vanished.

The wind blew silently as the Nebulous Angels silently recalled what had just happened. Even after seeing it for themselves, their minds still had to process the events of the last couple of minutes. And when they finally finished processing...all they could do was hug themselves tightly as their psyches completely shattered.

It was too much for them to handle. Their pure, fragile minds had already suffered so much trauma over the last couple months, but this was the last nail in the coffin. Faced with something so crushingly traumatizing, they could do nothing but shut down completely.

So, in the middle of the ruined landscape, the Nebulous Angels collapsed unconscious into the dust, their once-innocent spirits completely broken.

They were comatose for two days.

Yet even while unconscious, the tears wouldn’t stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not exactly sure why that angel thing exists. It was a really late addition, and I can't figure out exactly what inspired it. Come to think of it, nearly everything in this chapter was a late addition. Most of it wasn't in my planner.
> 
> ...Okay, in hindsight, it seems that somebody was _really_ excited for Smash Ultimate to come out...


	14. Ruin 6

Many weeks had passed since the Radiant Swords had taken down the ruinous seraph that had threatened their world - at the cost of their own lives. Ever since then, their children, who had gotten all of their friends and family taken away from them, had been living a lonely, dismal existence in the ruined world. The first couple of days were the worst - the two children had undergone what could only be described as a complete mental breakdown. When they had come to, they were shocked to find that their bodies were bruised and bloody, their swords were smoking, and almost everything in the vicinity that was still standing had been hacked to pieces.

Losing their friends was one thing. Losing their parents was something else entirely. Ken and Yuki had been the people that the Nebulous Angels admired, respected, and devoted themselves to helping - and now they were gone. Considering how young they were, their minds should have been permanently shattered. But above all, the siblings were determined to honor their parents’ last wishes - to never give up on life, no matter how dire it got. That promise was what held their fragmented spirits together, compelling them to live on despite the miserable circumstances. And one day...they vowed that they would figure out a way to save their planet.

Their village had been completely annihilated save for the ruins of Unit Alpha, which not even the creature’s rampage could completely destroy. So, as they set out on their task, they had taken up residence there. Of course, the place brought forth more pain in their hearts as they recalled the memories of the person who once lived there.

However, even as he kept clinging to life like he had been asked to, Yu was harboring a bit of guilt. In his darkest moments, when magical anomalies fogged his mind and made his thinking irrational, Yu would turn his blade over in his hands. The tool had served him well over his lifetime, and he owed it for that. Yet sometimes, Yu couldn’t help but unconsciously see it as an escape rope. The same weapon that had cut through so many enemies could just as easily cut through his own body, after all. His pure heart would shatter like the dreams of the future he had envisioned, and his mind would cease to function as he was freed from this lonely, desolate ruin he had once called home.

She wouldn’t admit it, but at her lowest his sister sometimes thought of the same things. A single stroke of her blade was all it would take to join her friends and family.

But said thoughts only lasted for seconds at most before they would scold themselves for thinking that way. They would never give up that easily - it would take a lot more for that. It was their duty to persist regardless of the hardships, never giving up until the day it all ended. And besides...they had made a promise, after all. And going back on a promise they had made to their parents was unthinkable.

Despite this, their life was a lonely one. Besides themselves, they had not seen any Nanos, or even any traces of them. It was perfectly possible that they were the last living Nanos on Territe - and the thought saddened them further. However, it also made them more determined - if that was true, then the task of restoring their world rested on their shoulders.

As the days ticked by, the Nebulous Angels willed countless hours into the wind, thinking about how they could possibly fix an entire planet damaged beyond repair. It seemed impossible, but the use of magic specifically demanded that they _couldn’t_ believe anything was impossible. Still, it was proving to be difficult, especially now that they didn’t have anyone to guide them.

But one night, the two of them had discovered one of Sophia’s dusty, old diaries on the nature of magic. At the end of the first page, there was a familiar line - one that the mage had constantly reminded them of during their magic training.

_Magic is a power that attempts to turn the user’s imagination into reality._

Upon seeing that phrase again, something had clicked in their minds. Looking up at the shining moon in the sky, they had been stricken with an epiphany. That moon’s power had destroyed their world at the will of the Admirals...so how likely was it that it could rebuild their world as well?

Of course, they had no proof that it was going to work. But after thinking about it for a bit longer, neither of them could see a better alternative. If there was even the tiniest chance that it could save their world, the Angels were more than ready to take it.

Their minds descended into tireless, constant planning. Neither of them knew how to build a rocket, and a visit to Aurora showed them that the city had none. So, they had decided to go for the next best option, which was to just fly there themselves.

Before that, however, they needed to train - and not just physically. Day and night, the Nebulous Angels practiced all of the necessary spells they would need to spend time in space. Every day, they would fly into the outer atmosphere, carrying what amounted to a sealed, localized bubble of the atmosphere with them. The first couple of days were catastrophic failures which sometimes required hours of rest afterwards. But as they kept practicing, they became more and more skilled at what they had to do.

Several weeks later, they were ready. On the day that their plan was scheduled to unfold, the two of them decided to take an afternoon nap to prepare.

Their dreams were filled with hopeful visions for the future.

 

_In the evening..._

Yu panted, his breath forming clouds of mist in the frigid air. Nearby, Kana shivered as she walked up to him, nearly slipping on a frozen puddle in the process. Apparently, while they had been asleep, the place had somehow frozen over. Now, the land was covered in a layer of ice and snow.

They didn’t think it was a bad thing, however. In the setting sun, the flawless ice glowed beautifully. The air was crisp and pure as well.

Kana wrapped herself in a blanket as she waited, a timer in her hand. After scouring Sophia’s notes on the moon’s orbits, they had figured out an optimal time to launch themselves. This was important - if they messed up the timing, there was a fair chance that they would fling themselves to their demise.

A minute before launch, the siblings raised their hands, forming their localized mini-atmosphere around them. Then, precisely when their timer hit zero, they gathered up their magic, spread their starry wings, and shot themselves skyward.

Their training had evidently paid off, because they had ascended faster than they had ever done before. In mere seconds, the kids had breached the clouds. In minutes, they had reached the outer atmosphere. Then came the moment of truth - the children left the planet altogether, their insulated bubble protecting them from the vacuum of space.

Even though they were focusing on maintaining their magic, the siblings couldn’t help but marvel at the scenery - or, to be more specific, the lack of scenery. Space was truly what it sounded like - empty, black space stretching into infinity, with the only landmarks in the dark void being the glimmer of distant stars.

Seeing this scene laid out before their eyes, the Nebulous Angels felt odd thoughts flit through their minds. In this void outside their world, the basic concepts of physical space didn’t have the same meaning as it did on their world. Distance was still relevant, they supposed, but position was completely obsolete in a boundless space. In addition, they realized that size had no more significance. If the universe were truly infinite, then it didn’t matter what you were - a Nano, a human, a planet, a galaxy. Dividing anything by infinity would yield the same result. Before the limitless void, entities of all sizes were equally insignificant.

The siblings frowned. _How curious._

As they floated for some more time, Yu pointed at the colossal, silvery moon slowly floating towards them - their predictions had been right. Fortunately, they managed to slow their descent and land on the moon safely - good thing it didn’t have a lot of gravity, or the siblings would have needed to account for things like splattering on impact. They had even managed to land next to the Admirals’ old facility, which was the place where they had needed to get to in the first place.

They looked around. The moon’s surface was just as they remembered it - nothing but rough, lumpy metal stretching in every direction. Next to them, the facility silently loomed over them, as clean as it had been on the day it had ruined their world.

Carrying their bubble of Territe’s atmosphere with them, they wandered into the building’s entrance. The hallways were dark and empty, save for the crumpled bodies of inactive Admirals. Fortunately for them, it didn’t take long for the Nebulous Angels to find what they were looking for - a gigantic, hangar-like room with a stupendous amount of complex machinery housed within it.

The Angels couldn’t help but grow cold at the sight of it. _This is it. This was the weapon that caused all of this._

It only took them five minutes to figure out how the machine worked. During their discussions, the Hoshizora family had managed to deduce that such a powerful weapon could really only work in a couple of ways. It appeared that the weapon had connected the magically-inclined robots with the Imperium moon’s vast magical energy, which then responded to their wishes. Complicated? Not really. Effective? Devastatingly so.

Unfortunately, they weren’t machines. That meant that they weren’t supposed to use it. However, they hadn’t been planning to use it in the first place. This had just been to confirm how the Admirals had pulled off what they did.

As the two of them stared into the portion of the machine where the subjects were to stand, their eyes flickered with light. The Admirals were essentially artificial magic-users, that had been manufactured instead of born. And yet, they had still managed to use this thing to massively distort their planet’s magic. For two beings like themselves, who were literally made of magic...even without a machine to assist them, they could likely wield the moon’s power better than the Admirals ever could.

And with that, they retraced their steps and stepped outside of the base again. Even with their miniature atmosphere protecting them, they could still feel the chill of outer space creeping into their bodies.

The two of them took a deep breath. They knew what they had to do.

But before they could do anything, Kana spoke up. “Yu?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I had just thought of something...if this succeeds, and the world is fixed...do you think that they’ll let us make some kind of holiday out of it?”

Yu tilted his head. “A holiday?”

Kana nodded. “Yeah. If this works, it will really be a special day. The day that the ruined world was rebuilt...I feel that such a day deserves a special name!”

Her brother laughed. “There’s no harm in trying for it later! What do you have in mind?”

Kana thought about it. “How about... _Kiseki?”_

“Huh?” Yu asked. “What does that mean?”

“It was a word I had found in one of Sophia’s books a day ago, and I really liked it.” Kana explained. “It’s supposed to be Japanese for _miracle_.”

“Hmm... _miracle_. Huh. I like the sound of that word, too. It's very fitting, for sure.” Yu told her. “I like it. Let’s think about it later - after we’ve done what we came here to do.”

And on that note, the Nebulous Angels looked at each other, then nodded. Taking deep breaths, the two of them knelt down and touched the ground. The metal was unbelievably cold, but the siblings ignored the burning pain in their fingers and focused. They could already feel a buzzing sensation spreading through their bodies as the moon’s magic responded to their own.

In order to further strengthen their wills, Kana had proposed asking several questions before actually attempting their task. So, the two of them shared a telepathic link and asked the first question. _What do you desire?_

The two of them sighed and affirmed their goal out loud. “To fix our world. To bring Territe back to the way it was before the war.”

Then they asked the second question. _Why are you doing this?_

The answer came out instantly. “So that everyone can be happy again...especially those who were unjustly killed.”

_What are you willing to give?_

The siblings stood tall. “Everything.”

And with that, they let the moon’s magic flow into themselves.

For an instant, overwhelming pain shot through their bodies as burning magic poured into them. Then, as they directed their wills towards their goal, the burning subsided as the magic was turned towards their planet. A ray of glimmering radiance pierced the darkness of space as the Angels stared at their world, raw determination blazing in their sapphire eyes. They were not doing this - they were merely the conduit, the beings that commanded the moon’s power. It was for this reason that they hadn’t been disintegrated on the spot - they were expelling the incoming magic as fast as it flowed into them.

Nonetheless, they were still willing to offer everything they had - up to and including their own beings. Even if their bodies burned, turned to ash, and disappeared, it would all be worth it if their hearts could reach the Imperium moon's magic and get it to grant their wish. Two lives for a planet...that was more than fair.

Minutes passed, and the Nebulous Angels stood firm. Despite willingly offering their own magical power along with the moon’s, they weren’t actually using any of their own power for this task. However, the strain of channeling so much energy was still causing them to sweat profusely as they put everything they had into the task.

As the strain forced them to their knees, they looked up and saw a miraculous sight. As the prismatic beam of light flowed into their planet, waves of multicolored light were pulsating from the impact site. As these waves rippled across their world, the terrain shifted and changed.

The overgrown forests shrunk, and the localized storms subsided. The warped landmarks returned to normal, and the out-of-place deserts faded away. Lands that weren’t meant to be frozen thawed out, and areas ravaged by natural disasters returned to their old states. Most miraculous of all...civilizations that had been in ruins reconstructed themselves, the piles of rubble reforming and reaching towards the sky once more.

Even if they didn't realize it, Yu and Kana had essentially become gods in this instant of time - beings with the power to remake an entire world. But even though they now had the ability to remake the world as they pleased, neither of them cared. To them, the world they wanted was simply the one that they had been living in before the war. So, instead of thinking about making a new world, restoring the old world was all they cared about.

As the fractured world started healing before their eyes, the Nebulous Angels couldn’t help but weep - this time from happiness rather than anguish. The stream of magic linking them to their home was apparently allowing them to sense the planet’s condition - and as such, they could feel its turbulent magic calming down and finally stabilizing. Their hearts leapt when they felt something else being restored - life. They could feel all of the life-forms that had once lived on Territe being recreated...even the Nanos.

“I’m so happy…” Yu whispered tearfully. “I can feel everything...going back to the way it was before.”

“We succeeded...the world is saved…” Kana cried.

The waves of prismatic light grew brighter, holding the renewed world in stasis until the entire process was done. As the last little bits of Territe were restored, the beam of light pouring into the planet fizzled out. The residual light blanketing Territe coalesced into a shell of sorts, before disseminating into space in the form of a radiant shock wave.

As the wave of light sped towards the Nebulous Angels, they calmly got up and accepted their fate. There was only one thing that had to be done in order to complete Territe’s restoration. That thing was for Yu and Kana to be erased from this world, and reborn in the repaired one.

They had prepared for this during their plans. So, they didn’t even flinch as the warm light rolled over the moon, instantly causing their bodies to flicker and start fading. As the strength left their forms, causing them to collapse, the Angels felt no pain. All they felt as they faded away was a comforting warmth. They knew that even if they had to be destroyed, they’d be reborn into the shining, happy world that they had loved so dearly.

So, as the siblings closed their teary eyes and waited, Kana spoke up. “Yu?”

“...Yeah, Kana?”

“...See you in a bit.”

“...You too, sis.”

And the Nebulous Angels faded away, leaving nothing behind but a sparkling mist.

Their magic returned to the world it came from.

And Territe began to move again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How the hell did I write this in the span of one day?
> 
> Not exactly sure how I like what I did here, but I couldn't think of anything else.


	15. Resolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These just keep getting shorter and shorter lol.

Roused by the noise and daybreak sunlight drifting through their half-open windows, Yu and Kana Hoshizora groggily rubbed their eyes and shook themselves awake. It was a peaceful, sunny morning, and the birds were chirping outside.

The kids could hear some commotion coming from downstairs, so they assumed that it was about time to wake up. Yawning, the two of them quickly changed out of their pyjamas and brushed their teeth.

While they were making their bed, Yu remembered something. “Hey, sis?”

“Hm? What is it?”

Yu sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. “Do you ever know that feeling when you’ve just had a dream, but can’t remember anything about it? Well...that’s what I’m feeling now. I feel like I had the most vivid dream last night...but I don’t have the foggiest idea of what it was about.”

Kana frowned. “Huh. Yeah, I know what you mean. Funny thing is, I’ve got that feeling too. And on top of that, I feel...accomplished, somehow.”

Yu laughed. “Maybe you did something really great in that dream! Even if it’s not real, it’s good to feel accomplished if you do anything good!”

“Hmm.” Kana mused. “I guess you’re right.”

As they walked down the stairs to the living room, the kids realized that the commotion had suddenly grown quiet. Looking at each other with suspicion in their eyes, they just shrugged and walked into the living room.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Yu and Kana shrieked in alarm and tripped down the stairs, only for a pair of arms to grab them. Looking up, they saw none other than their parents smiling happily at them. All around them, their good friends were laughing and applauding enthusiastically, smiles plastered on their faces.

Slowly, it dawned on the Nebulous Angels - it _was_ their birthday. Despite their ages being a year apart, both of them had miraculously been born on the same date - and as such, they would always share their birthday celebration. But still...how had they forgotten? Perhaps that dream they had been wondering about had distracted them. Fortunately, their friends and family weren’t about to let them forget it so easily.

So, the siblings laughed playfully while everyone congratulated them, the children also running around and gratefully hugging everyone. In another time, their birthday might have been forgotten due to the sudden arrival of two alien robots. But in this time...it had been remembered.

The group of friends laughed and played together for the next hour. However, then it was time for lunch - Yu and Kana had apologized profusely once they realized they had nearly slept until noon. _That dream must have been really tiring._

Once everyone had settled around the table, Yuki unveiled a cake she had baked earlier that morning - a sweet, fluffy beauty that made their mouths water just looking at it. But cake alone wasn’t suitable for a lunch - so, with the help of his friends, Ken had made a bountiful platter of sushi while his wife had been baking the cake.

With such a delicious meal laid before their eyes, it didn’t take long for the group to polish off all the sushi. Then, they had let Yu and Kana cut their cake - with a proper kitchen knife, of course - and blow out their candles. As the kids made their wish, their friends, led by the Galantes, sung happy birthday to them.

Euphonic harmony filled the room while Yu and Kana made their wish. It was the same wish they made every year: for their friends and family to live long lives filled with happiness.

The rest of the party was just as happy as the first part. Sophia had brought along quite a few types of games, and all of them were eager to play around. However, it had become evident that Sophia held quite the advantage in terms of gaming prowess.

Melody yelped and shook her controller wildly as Sophia’s character scored a solid hit on her own, causing it to explode. As Melody desperately tried to make the most out of her last life, a defeated Xander and Mitama gave Sophia a look that was equal parts admiration and annoyance.

“Sophia...you could at least go easy on us.” Mitama told her, a small smile on her face.

“Uh, yeah. Maybe Sophia shouldn’t be playing this with us.” Xander quipped.

Sophia smiled as she easily demolished Melody’s character one last time, causing the bard to miserably slide off the couch in defeat. “Aw, what’s wrong with me playing? Just because I’m better at the game-”

“Sophia, you _helped design_ this game _!_ ” Xander yelled. “At least go easy on us!”

Hibiki raised another disc, this one apparently housing a racing game. “Hey, then we can play this one! It supports more than five players, so I can join you guys. Also, Sophia didn’t help design this one, so it’s all fair!”

“I’d be glad to.” Sophia told her friend, taking the game and inserting it into their console. “Don’t expect it to get any easier for you, however.”

“Feeling confident, eh?” Mitama laughed. “We’ll just see about that!”

While the five of them laughed and bickered, Yu and Kana smiled happily as they said their hellos to some of their more distant friends. Joseph and Anthony had been too busy in to show up, but they had still insisted on having a video call from Aurora so they could wish the siblings a happy birthday. Meanwhile in Eulogia, Magnus and Julius had also caught wind of the birthday party, and had decided to send their regards as well. The Angels' grandparents, while busy, had made sure to give Ken and Yuki their grandkids' birthday cards in advance.

Despite the fact that Yu and Kana had a great many things to talk about, they kept their conversations short and sweet. The siblings didn’t want to bother them with their tasks, after all.

So, as the group kept laughing and playing together, it wasn’t long before minutes became hours. And after an afternoon of playing, the Nebulous Angels were tired out. So, they had requested that they go outside to relax for a bit - a request that their friends were happy to satisfy.

Looking out into the warm, golden sunset, Yu and Kana reminded themselves of how lucky they were to have such a wonderful home. In another time and place, their world could have been a desolate, gloomy ruin. But in this time, and in this place...their world was perfect, a shining gemstone of happiness and miracles.

Still, the mysterious dream that the siblings had experienced the night before still befuddled them. It seemed so vivid, yet they couldn’t remember anything about it - not even what it had been about. Was this like what they had read in those human stories - about how some people thought they had lived in past lifetimes?

The kids shook their heads. They were just dreams, nothing more. But if they were just dreams...why did thinking about them make them feel so accomplished?

As their friends cheerfully talked to each other, a seemingly random question flitted into Kana’s mind. She racked her mind for the answer, but couldn’t figure it out. Then she asked Yu, only for her brother to shrug. “Sorry...I don’t know what that means.”

So, they decided to do the obvious thing and ask their parents. As the two of them walked up to the Radiant Swords, Kana pulled on her mother’s sleeve. “Mom?”

“Hm? What is it, Kana?”

Kana looked up at her hopefully. “You know a bit of Japanese, right?”

Yuki seemed surprised by the question. “Er...not really. What do you need it for?”

“Well...there’s a word that Kana remembered all of a sudden...and we want to know the meaning of it.” Yu said quietly.

Ken shrugged. “Eh, there’s no harm for us to try and answer it. Come on, tell us!”

The siblings looked at each other, before asking as one.

“...What does _Kiseki_ mean?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends. Total elapsed time was 100 days.
> 
> I had written so fast near the end of the story that I was honestly a bit worried. I suppose I just let my mind wander freely, and this was the result.
> 
> The story having a happy ending was determined from the start, despite all of the pain and suffering that was present in the Ruin arc. I don't like downer endings, after all - but I wanted to make the characters earn their happy ending, so to speak. In truth, I could have done a better job, but it's satisfactory for me.
> 
> Technically, since the events of the story have canonically been magically retconned, the little bit I put at the end of _Radiant Swords_ is still valid. Kind of. I really didn't think that through.
> 
> So, that's it for _Fractured Miracle_ \- and, to be honest, I don't think I'm going to be making another main story in this series. Of course, I might do occasional short stories for the series, because they sound kind of fun - in fact, one of them is planned to be my next work. However, for original fictions, I'd like to make an entirely new one if I can find the motivation to. I swear I had some planners lying around somewhere...


End file.
